Rafael Nadal Talks About Foot Injury That Secretly Plagued His Entire Record Breaking Career

Rafael Nadal has revealed that persistent pain from a long-term foot condition shaped much of his playing career, saying he often continued competing despite uncertainty over his physical condition.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner, who retired in 2024 after more than two decades in professional tennis, discussed the issue during an interview. Nadal said managing injuries became a constant challenge as he tried to remain competitive at the highest level alongside and.

Nadal speaks about his injury while acknowledging that several career decisions involved balancing performance with long-term health risks. The Spaniard admitted that continuing to play through physical discomfort came at a cost, but he believed stepping away earlier would have significantly reduced his achievements in the sport.

“I've had to make decisions about my health, where you are on the borderline between right or wrong. But if I hadn't explored all that, I probably would have had 10 fewer Grand Slams... this is the reality,” Nadal said.

The foot problem began during the 2005 season and was later diagnosed as Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a rare condition affecting the bones in the foot. Nadal suffered the injury around the same period he won his first French Open title as a teenager.

Nadal talks about foot injury by explaining how doubts over his physical future remained with him throughout his career. According to Nadal, there were times when he entered a season unsure whether his body would allow him to continue playing for much longer.

“Tennis became a race against time. Always having the doubt in my head of, how long can I last with this foot? I never knew how long my career would last,” he said.

The condition also contributed to further medical issues over the years, including knee tendinitis and complications related to pain treatment. Nadal said pain-management injections occasionally became necessary, including during the 2022 French Open, which turned out to be the final Grand Slam title of his career.

“The key was the suffering was less than my passion and my happiness for what I was doing,” Nadal added.