"It's very simple, I like playing tennis and I know it's not forever" - Rafael Nadal reflects after Australian Open exit

Rafael Nadal's run at the 2023 Australian Open campaign came to a heartbreaking end after he exited the Grand Slam in the second round — losing out to Mackenzie McDonald after struggling with a hip injury.

The early exit has once again given way to questions about the Spaniard's retirement. Several from the tennis fraternity have come forward to speculate just how long Nadal can continue playing tennis.

Responding to questions about the same in his post-match press conference, Nadal said it was a "very simple" equation — that he liked playing tennis, but he knew that it would not last forever.

"It's a very simple thing: I like what I do," the Spaniard said. "I like playing tennis. I know it's not forever. I like to feel myself competitive. I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more."

The 22-time Grand Slam winner spoke about the concept of "sacrifice" that one makes for their career.

"And that's it. It's not that complicated to understand, no? When you like do one thing, at the end, sacrifices always make sense, because the "sacrifice" word is not like this," the 36-year-old said.

He said that giving up on something to achieve what one always wanted does not qualify as sacrifice in the first place.

"When you do things that you like to do, at the end of the day, it's not a sacrifice. You are doing the things that you want to do. Sacrifice is when you are doing things that you don't want to do, you know," Nadal added.

"Last seven months have been a tough period" - Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal after exiting the 2023 Australian Open.

Rafael Nadal's exit ended his Australian Open title defense and is set to have an effect on his world ranking. The current World No. 2 has been on a bit of a downward spiral since winning his 22nd Grand Slam at the 2022 Roland Garros.

The Spaniard conceded that the last seven months have been a tough period for him.

"But I accept it quite well during all my tennis career," he said. "And I was able to manage it well. But of course last seven months have been, again, another tough period of time, and that's it. I don't know what can happen in the future."

The 36-year-old also said that he wasn't sure what the future held for him.

"But yeah, I need to void again a long period of time outside, because if not, it's tough. If have been seven months playing almost nothing, and then if I have to spend long time again, then it's super difficult in the end to be in rhythm," he added.