“I was not able to move the way that I was used to move. So arrived a moment that after Olympics, I come back home and then say, okay, it’s over. I feel it.” 22-time slam champion and 14-time Roland Garros king Rafael Nadal had no option but to press the ‘stop’ button after spending two decades on the 78-feet tennis battlefield. Last October, he stunned the world with a painful update on his ATP future. “In this life, everything has a beginning and an end,” he said.

Similar to any other athlete, his professional run came to an end, too. One that was seriously marred by injuries. Eventually, it forced him to say goodbye to the racket sport. Seems like another ATP icon, Stan Wawrinka thinks likewise. Beyond a certain point, you can’t push yourself as you grow. You have to listen to the body, even if you are Nadal.

Wawrinka, 40, who’s dealt with his own demons of injuries throughout the years, is still active on the court. Despite physical obstacles, the Swiss ATP pro refuses to stop. At least till the time he feels he can’t keep up with his body. But Wawrinka knows that his time to say goodbye may arrive sooner. Simply because surgeries can only help for a brief period, right? In the long term, your body can’t remain stable with growing age.

In an interaction with Eurosport, dated May 1, Stan Wawrinka touched upon the harsh reality of sports. Especially when it comes to sustaining injuries on a consistent basis and recovering from them. He was asked to share his perspective, with a reference to Nadal who retired after failing to keep up with his own physical challenges.

So what did the former World No.3 say? “Unfortunately, this is an athlete’s risk. As you get older, the sacrifices you make for your body to constantly push its limits leave traces and injuries.” Wawrinka added, “I have also had serious injuries in recent years with laborious operations where I normally would not have had a great chance of returning – but I struggled. As an athlete, you always want to decide for yourself when you stop.”

For the uninitiated, Wawrinka faced a career-threatening knee injury back in 2017. It was so intense that he opted to miss the remaining season after crashing out of the 2017 Wimbledon in the first round with a loss against Daniil Medvedev. Instead of trying to defend his 2016 US Open title, the Swiss pro chose to listen to his body and recover properly. “This was the only solution to make sure I will be able to compete at the top level for many more years,” he saidat the time.

But he kept facing such instances for the next few years. In 2021, he sustained a foot injury that forced him out of action for over a year. He then had two surgeries on his road to recovery in 2022. Even last year, he had a wrist injury that compelled him to withdraw from the Italian Open. These days, for him, it feels like “Every year is one more time,” reported the US Open website last August.

You see, such is the impact injuries can have on you. And who knows it better than former legend Nadal? Just over a month ago, he reiterated his sentiments regarding his retirement call while explaining how the battle with himself forced him to make the big decision.

When Rafael Nadal revealed what really made him hang up his tennis

The former World No.1 had an interaction with former American pro Andy Roddick on his Served podcast. While talking to the 2003 US Open winner, Rafael Nadal revealed about his career and also aspects involving physical setbacks. Especially during the second half of 2024 how he found it challenging to keep playing flawlessly.

“I came back from injury, things are feeling well now, so let’s practice, let’s prepare. So, in some way, I forget quickly what happened. I was able to go on court, practice with the intensity that I needed, and then I think I recovered the physical intensity quite fast. The tennis level was not a big issue for me most of the time,” Nadal revealed. Over 20 years, he played 83 slams. Out of them, he missed 14 due to injuries. The 69 he actually competed in, Nadal clinched 22 of them.

“So you are able to live with that and go on court. You don’t feel, ‘Okay, maybe I have a limitation today,’ but most days, I don’t have that limitation. So you’re still believing, ‘Okay, I can keep fighting for the most important things,’” he continued. Time and again, he showed his fighting spirit despite having pain. For example, in Indian Wells, he cracked his rib against Alcaraz – but managed to win eventually. At the 2022 French Open, he played with a numbed left foot but succeeded in emerging as the champion.

However, he eventually realized the toll the injuries were taking on his body. In January 2023, during the Australian Open, he felt a sharp pain in his hip. But he didn’t opt for surgery for five months. As a result, he missed the rest of that season. Coming back in 2024, he didn’t feel the same on the court and withdrew from the Australian Open due to a muscle injury. “I was not able to move the way that I was used to move. So arrived a moment that after Olympics, I come back home and then say, okay, it’s over. I feel it.”

Nadal officially retired last November during the Davis Cup at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena. He couldn’t win his last match as Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp bested him. What are your thoughts on the Spaniard’s call to retirement last season? Was it the right time for him to call it a day? Let us know in the comments below.