Former player Monica Puig reacted to Nadal's words at his press conference admitting that she understands what it feels like to see your career altered by injuries.
Monica Puig was a really solid tennis player back in the day winning the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 beating Serena along the way. There wasn't much success beyond that for her due to various injuries and last year she finally pulled the plug on her career after another failed comeback attempt.
Nadal's words resonated with her as he explained that the end can't be like this:
"I don't think I deserve to end like this. I have worked hard so that my end is not here, in a press conference. I am going to fight so that the end is not like this. When it is time to not compete again, let it be with the satisfaction of knowing that I have done what was in my power."
Reacting to it on the Tennis Channel, Puig said:
“He wants to retire on his own terms. Maybe that’s why he’s pushing it back and saying that next year is gonna be his last year. As somebody who could retire on her own terms, I know how important it is to go to the tournaments, say goodbye when you’re ready to say goodbye. He’s had so many injuries throughout his whole career. His entire game was based off of how physical he was out there. So, I mean, it’s kind of understandable that now it’s time. I mean, his body can only take so much."