Rafael Nadal is doing just fine in retirement. Fans recently saw a relaxed and happy Nadal, still wearing Nike attire, during an exclusive hour-long interview with Andy Roddick on his Served podcast.
Nadal and Roddick talked extensively about the sport they love.
Though Nadal is a man of few regrets, he did share one with Roddick. It was something that happened early in his career. Because Nadal was a quick learner, it was a mistake he only made one time.
What Rafael Nadal regrets
Rafael Nadal reminisced about the early years of his career, including his record-breaking 2005 season when he won his first French Open and 11 tournaments in total.
He admitted to being young and enjoying the celebrations of the 2005 French Open victory so much that he did not engage in full preparations for the grass court season.
🎾 🇪🇸 Rare video:
— Swish 🍒 Tennis (@Zwxsh) December 24, 2024
Rafael Nadal's FIRST EVER point at Roland Garros
18 years old, May 2005
A sign of many things to come ⏳pic.twitter.com/pmNMka0lHh
This was a tragedy for two reasons. One, the grass was his second favorite surface. Aside from the knee issues he had on grass that kept him away from Wimbledon for a few years, he loved the challenge of the surface as well as the free points on his serve. Two, could the 18-year-old Nadal have added grasscourt wins to his legendary 2005 season to make it even more extraordinary?
Being prepared was always Nadal's trademark trait, so it was surprising to hear him admit that he took the grass court preparations in 2005 a bit too lightly and paid the price with early losses in a warmup tournament in Germany and the second round of Wimbledon.
This is the same man who also told Roddick that he never practiced just for the sake of it. His goal in every practice was to improve his game. Nadal's intense and physical approach is precisely why he won 22 Grand Slams, a mind-boggling 14 at Roland Garros.
Off-camera, Nadal told Roddick that he had not played tennis since his Davis Cup farewell last fall. His chronic foot injury is causing him problems in retirement, but it did not seem to hinder him in a recent Padel game.