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Rafael Nadal French Open 2021
Rafa Nadal, Tennis News

‘Athletes are under pressure but super lucky’, says Rafael Nadal


Rafael Nadal has spoken of how “competition makes you feel more stressed”, while explaining why he believes athletes are “super lucky”. 

The 20-time major champion addressed the mental health challenges faced by sports stars and thinks the issue is approached in a range of ways.

The 35-year-old is making his return to action this week at the ATP 500 tournament in Washington – where he is playing for the first time.

“Everybody approaches the issue in a different way. We are under pressure because the competition makes you feel more stressed,” the Spaniard told CBS News.

“But at the same time, we are super lucky persons, no? Because we are able to work on one of our hobbies. It’s important – most important thing in this life, in my opinion, is be happy. More than anything else.”

Nadal will face former top 10 player Jack Sock – now ranked 192 in the world – in his first match at the hard court event.

The world number three has not played since his French Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.