"I retired because my body couldn't take any more" - The painful reason why Rafael Nadal was forced to retire from tennis

Rafael Nadal has opened up on his permanent retirement from the sport, admitting that while his love for tennis was still there, his body was not up to the task.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion had built an incredible career with a plethora of major titles, memorable matchups and resounding records. He became an inspiration to many on the court with his mesmerising tennis and was a part of a legendary rivalry with some of the best players to have graced the planet.

"I went through the respect you have to have for change," Nadal told Jorge Valdano on the Movistar+ program Universo Valdano. "All changes in life, at the very least, have to generate some respect for how you're going to react to a new reality, to a life that's going to be different from what you're used to doing, not just for 20 years of your professional career, but since you were 10 years old. Sport and tennis are what I've dedicated myself to completely."

The Spaniard admitted that he knew it was time to put down his racket. "I was prepared because I exhausted all my options until the very end. Having exhausted every real possibility I had of continuing to compete at the level I would have liked gave me the conviction and peace of mind to end things peacefully, knowing it was the decision I had to make because there was nothing else," Nadal stated. "The tank was empty."

It was not his love for the sport that was faltering, but his body not being able to keep up pace anymore. "I don't have any bad memories of that period," Nadal stated, looking back on the period ahead of his imminent retirement. "Some people, understandably, thought I should have quit earlier, that the ending didn't make sense. For me, it did: you have to act in accordance with who you are. I acted accordingly. I tried to exhaust all my options until there really were none left. I liked what I was doing. I didn't retire because I was tired of what I was doing or lacked the necessary motivation. I retired because my body couldn't take any more. I was still happy doing what I was doing. During the surgery, they told me I had a chance of making a full recovery. I had to give myself a reasonable amount of time to find out. There came a point when I realized I could compete, but not at the level I needed to continue. I pushed my career to the limit, as far as I could go."

Nadal was one founding member of the 'Big Three,' with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic also in this unique club. The trio regularly competed at the highest level. They won 66 Grand Slams between them in the space of just over two decades, and have made a lasting impact on tennis.

While they may have been enemies on the court, Nadal sees it from a different perspective now. "You go through phases. When you're younger, you experience everything more intensely. As the years go by, things soften," Nadal confessed. "The positive thing about our time is that we've finished our careers and can go out to dinner together without any problem. This is something to be proud of. We've competed for the most important things, but we haven't taken it to extremes. The rivalry has stayed on the track, and personal relationships have always been based on respect, admiration, and even a certain friendship with our rivals."

There is a new dominant force in the sport now. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are leaps and bounds ahead of the rest and have asserted themselves as the current top two on the ATP Circuit. Nadal referenced the pair's dominance while acknowledging that his rivalry with Federer and Djokovic paved the way for similar showdowns in the future while touching on the legacy they could leave behind.

"I'm happy to have been a part of this story. Without taking anything away from Sinner and Alcaraz, who want to do things right, I think we (the Big Three) have helped new generations understand that you can be a fierce competitor without hating your rival," Nadal said. "You can have an optimal relationship, not necessarily a friendship. It's a good legacy we've left behind."

"We came from Pete Sampras, who had 14 Grand Slams. It's only human that someone from our generation, when they reached 14, might have thought they'd reached the peak," Nadal said. While many may have thought 14 Grand Slams was untouchable, the Big Three proved them wrong. A big part of this was their competitiveness, and that eagerness to get one step ahead of the other.

"Since there were three of us, not two, there was never any room for complacency. The demands were extremely high. We never stopped pushing each other. You couldn't afford to throw away tournaments. That's the greatness of our era. We were always in the final rounds competing for the most important tournaments. I don't think one of us alone could have done it."

A video clip on Instagram showed Nadal making a highly anticipated return to the court on the one year anniversary of his retirement. It was to have a session with Alexandra Eala. The bright talent from the Philippines has rocketed up the rankings, culminating in the top 50. She was one of the many players who came through the Rafael Nadal Academy. Nadal was more than happy to pick up his racket once more, as he stated his relationship with tennis.

"I played 45 minutes with Eala. They asked me to play, and I was happy to. If I don't have to run, great. Through the academy, I'm still involved, and I watch what I want to watch. I don't follow the day-to-day like I used to. Now I watch the matches or moments that I feel like watching."