"I can’t watch Rafael Nadal suffer, it’s too much" - When Spaniard's mother Ana lamented emotional experience watching him play after major injuries
Rafael Nadal's mother once said that seeing her son play with major injuries was hard for her. The Spaniard overcame several injury issues to have one of the greatest careers in tennis history.
Nadal's first major injury came in 2005 when he was diagnosed with Muller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative foot condition. Despite this and other fitness problems, he managed to win 22 Grand Slams including 14 French Open titles.
Nadal enjoyed some impressive years in tennis, the most notable of which was perhaps 2010, when he won three Grand Slams. This was also the year when his mother Ana Maria Parera spoke to Spanish outlet AS and was asked how she felt when her son dedicates his wins to her.
She responded by saying that she felt emotional while watching from the player's box but preferred to watch from a distance after her son's injuries. Nadal's mother said that she wanted the match to end in such a situation as she could not see him suffer.
"Very emotional. I cry, although I control myself. But look, after his injuries, when I'm watching a match, I see from a distance whether or not he has problems, and when he does, I want the match to end. I can ’t watch him suffer, it’s too much for me," the 22-time Grand Slam's mother said (as quoted by rafaholics.net)
Once I was in the box and I heard "Come on, make one last effort. " I turned and said, "One last effort? Can you not see that he's knackered? Stop that!" When he wins a big one it’s impressive because at home I see how much he works, how much he struggles. From the outside you only see the spectacle and, make no mistake, this world is very hard, it’s full of obstacles.
Rafael Nadal thanked his mother in his retirement video
Rafael Nadal announced that he would be retiring from tennis after the 2024 Davis Cup Finals via a video on social media. In the video, the Spaniard paid tribute to the various people who helped him throughout his career and also thanked his mother for all the sacrifices she made
"My mother, I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we would always have everything," the Spaniard said.
The 38-year-old's last match of his illustrious career came during Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinal against Netherlands. He faced Botic van de Zandschulp and lost 4-6, 4-6.
Nadal's final season saw him win just 12 out of 20 singles matches, with his most notable performance being reaching the final of the Nordea Open in Bastad, where he lost to Nuno Borges. Before the Davis Cup, the Spaniard competed at the Paris Olympics, where he faced Novak Djokovic for one last time, losing 1-6, 4-6.