"The good thing is he has an injury that he will recover from 100% if he does the proper things" - Rafael Nadal offers support for injured Alcaraz ahead of documentary

Rafael Nadal has cemented himself as a tennis legend, among one of the best to ever play the sport. The 39-year-old was almost unbeatable at his imperious best and will soon show that to the world in his upcoming documentary 'Rafa' on Netflix.

The documentary will look back at his marvellous career was not something that he wanted while still playing, but now retired the idea looks more appetising. "I refused doing that during all my tennis career. I had plenty of opportunities to do it, but I refused, especially because I didn’t want to bother my team and my family," he told Andy Roddick on Served. "I am used to staying under the cameras, but not them. I didn’t want to put them in that position."

He was later convinced about doing this documentary, feeling it was the right moment. "But from the moment I had a conversation with David Ellison — the owner of Skydance, now Paramount and more — I think he convinced me that it was the right moment to do it.

"This is something that’s going to stay forever. In some way, I understood that an athlete like me should leave something like this behind. He explained the project to me and I was very convinced. I spoke with my family and they were fine with it."

Once everyone got used to the cameras and being filmed regularly, the experience was a very positive one. "I’m happy that I did it. It was tough at the beginning for everyone, but later on we had a great team that made us feel comfortable, and my family got used to it," he stated.

"It’s going to be a good memory of this period of time with the small kids. Of course, what people will see in the documentary is important, but I’ll also have a lot of private material and moments that won’t appear in the film, and those memories will stay with us forever."

He was very pleased with the outcome and was hopeful that others would also enjoy watching it. "I hope people like it. It wasn’t easy to do, especially with a young family and moving into the next phase of my life, but I think it will be something special to keep forever."

Nadal has won an incredible 22 Grand Slam titles, 14 of them coming in the French Open. He made the place an impenetrable force, dominating on the clay courts at Roland Garros for almost two decades.

His final time competing in Paris came in 2024. Injuries had ravaged his career and sending it spiralling towards an imminent halt. He was willing to compete one more time, saying goodbye to a place he held dear to his heart.

He would have a ridiculously tough task in the first round, taking on the number four seed Alexander Zverev. He lost in straight sets which brought an end to his time competing at Roland Garros.

Roddick questioned why he wanted to comeback one last time despite all the problems he was suffering with. "Easy question, because I did it a lot of times in the past," Nadal answered.

"I wanted to explore that possibility again. If the doctors had told me I had zero chance to come back and feel free to compete again for the things I was used to competing for, then I probably wouldn’t have done it. But the doctors gave me a percentage of positive chances that I could recover 100% from the hip and come back."

With that door slightly ajar, he opted to take that opportunity. "That’s why I tried. That’s why I gave myself enough time to explore whether that was possible or not. When I realised that wasn’t the case — that my hip would never be the same as before and that I wouldn’t have the chance to compete for the things that truly excited me — then I decided to step away."

Now retired, Nadal is happy to move onto different things outside of tennis. "That phase of my life is closed now, honestly. I am in another phase of my life and I’m super happy with my new life," he admitted.

"I’m very proud of my tennis career, especially the longevity and everything I went through to keep playing tennis. I really had the right work ethic and determination to always try to find a way to stay competitive."

He was at peace with what he achieved in the sport. "Today, I finished my career and I’m in peace. I had nothing left in my tank. So I’m able to watch all these videos now. Of course, some of them bring back great memories and make me emotional, but in a good way. It doesn’t produce pain for me at all. I remember my career positively. Of course, I went through a lot of pain, but that’s not how I think about it now. Tennis gave me a lot."

His time in tennis is not over, always willing to help the next generation of tennis talents. "I’ve always been very open to talking with anyone who wants to talk to me. My phone is always available for other players now. I’ve spoken with some of them already. It’s about perspective. When you are retired, the perspective is different from when you are still competing. When you’re active, every day away from the court feels like you’re missing something."

He spoke on fellow Spanish talent Carlos Alcaraz, who will miss both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. "Carlos Alcaraz right now feels like he’s missed two Grand Slams and a couple of Masters 1000 events," he explained. "It’s a tough moment for him. But the good thing is he has an injury that he will recover from 100% if he does the proper things. And I’m sure he is doing the proper things because I know that injury very well — I had exactly the same injury in 2014 and again in 2016.

"When I retired from Roland-Garros in 2016, I had exactly the same injury he has now. The main thing is that he has already achieved a lot, and that gives him calm. He also has plenty of years ahead of him. Hearing that from somebody like me — someone who has gone through all these situations — can give you positivity during difficult moments."