“I Lost Appetite” – Rafael Nadal on His Gloomy Phase of Life and Having Had the ‘Bleakest Christmas Ever’

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, had an exceptional year. He won two grand slam titles this year. And is currently number second in the world ATP ranking. He has a glorious career and has illustrated a part of his life into a book for his tennis fans.

However, this pictorial career has had its own highs and lows. At a young age, the tennis legend has seen such a low when he thought of retiring because of an injury. In his memoir, published in 2011, he mentioned such an instance that will make tennis fans skip a beat.   

Rafael Nadal talks about the Bleakest Christmas ever

In his autobiography, Rafa: My Story, the tennis star, shared an instance. The story goes back to when he was 19; Nadal faced a foot injury and had the worst time in his career. After struggling for months with the injury and not feeling not making it again on the court. He wrote, “I felt as if my life had been cut in half.”

According to the 22-time Grand Slam champion, it felt like the ‘Bleakest Christmas Ever’ and expressed his emotions with the words, “I’d lie for hours on end on the sofa staring into pace, or sit in the bathroom, or on the stairs, weeping. I didn’t laugh; I didn’t want to talk, lost all appetite for life.”

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However, the Spaniard overcame his fears and now, at the age of 36, he is one of the top-ranked players and is ruling the world with his superb tennis skills. He is Spain’s bright star, illuminating his nation on the tennis court.

Where will Nadal be seen next?

The former world number one has hardly been seen on the court in good shape since his heartbreaking US Open loss. However, he played the Laver Cup in respect of his arch-rivals’ farewell match and withdrew for the rest of the tournament. 

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Now by the end of the year, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will play an exhibition tour in South America. He will play his first match of the tournament on November 23, in Buenos Aires. He took to his Instagram account to share this news with the young sensation Casper Ruud. Notably, they will face each other in several matches during the tour.