Top 90 Rafael Nadal Quotes (2024 Update)
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51. “I tried to find a solution to the problem that I had, tried to find a way to start playing better.”

— Rafael Nadal

52. “I was passionate about soccer. I still am. Odd, though – playing soccer always made me much more anxious than playing tennis. On soccer days, I’d be out of bed by 6 in the morning, all nervous. But I was always calm when it was time for a tennis match. I still don’t know why.”

— Rafael Nadal

53. “I always wanted to be honest with myself and to those who have had faith in me.”

— Rafael Nadal

54. “I have the same bedroom I’ve always had. It’s clean and tidy when I get home, and after two or three days it gets messy and my mother nags me.”

— Rafael Nadal

55. “We’ll try and be very aggressive, we’ll try and speed up and change gears, and we’ll see who’s going to win.”

— Rafael Nadal

56. “Tennis is a hard sport. There is a lot of competition all year and you play alone.”

— Rafael Nadal

57. “My goal is to improve my game, stay healthy and be competitive. If I have that, I know I can be able to win tournaments, which in the end is what it counts.”

— Rafael Nadal

58. “In Majorca, I can be myself. I go to the supermarket and the cinema, and I am just Rafa. Everyone knows me, and it is no big deal. I can go all day – no photographs.”

— Rafael Nadal

59. “Why would I want a place of my own? Then I would have to things worry about, like doing laundry and having food in the fridge.”

— Rafael Nadal

60. “I am very lucky because when I come back home, I have a completely normal life. I can relax, playing golf, fishing – doing what I want. I know when I finish a tournament, I am going to relax at home.”

— Rafael Nadal

61. “I admire a lot of people, but in terms of sport I’ve always loved the mentality of Tiger Woods on a golf course. I always love his eyes when he’s setting himself and focusing on his decision; he has a really strong, focused face and believes that he can make the shot.”

— Rafael Nadal

62. “If you are playing bad you are going to lose here, on clay, on ice, or on the beach.”

— Rafael Nadal

63. “I think I am a complete player. I can play well on all the surfaces. For me, the clay might be easiest, but I am not a specialist on clay.”

— Rafael Nadal

64. “Hard courts are very negative for the body. I know the sport is a business and creating these courts is easier than clay or grass, but I am 100 per cent sure it is wrong.”

— Rafael Nadal

65. “I am decidedly unfriendly during a golf game, from the first hole to the last.”

— Rafael Nadal

66. “I am happy with being a tennis player and the choice I took when I was 12. But clearly, if I wouldnt have been a tennis player, I would have loved to be a soccer player. But again, I am happy with the choice I made.”

— Rafael Nadal

67. “I used to wear sleeveless T-shirts all the time on court, but now I’ve got a brand new look – I’ve moved on to polo shirts. Sleeveless T-shirts give you real freedom of movement and they keep you cooler in matches, but I just thought it was time for a change.”

— Rafael Nadal

68. “It’s more a tennis problem than a mental problem. The transition is difficult. It depends how much time you have. Playing on grass can sometimes be a bit of a lottery.”

— Rafael Nadal

69. “I’m delighted with the way I’m playing at the moment.”

— Rafael Nadal

70. “I only ever run when there’s some point to it – say, if it’s in a game of tennis.”

— Rafael Nadal

71. “So there was fun and magic in my relationship with Toni, even if the prevailing mood when we trained was stony and severe.”

— Rafael Nadal

72. “My serve can get better, for sure. It’s not just about serving bombs, but positioning, variation in speed, in spin.”

— Rafael Nadal

73. “I learned that you always have to hang in there, that however remote your chances of winning might seem, you have to push yourself to the very limit of your abilities and try your luck. That day in Melbourne I saw, more clearly than ever before, that the key to this game resides in the mind, and if the mind is clear and strong, you can overcome almost any obstacle, including pain. Mind can triumph over matter.”

— Rafael Nadal

74. “I am afraid of a lot of things. A dog. I could be afraid of a dog that’s upset, for example. And on the tennis courts, maybe on the outside I look fearless, but on the inside, I’m scared. There’s not one player in the world who isn’t nervous before matches. Especially important matches.”

— Rafael Nadal

75. “I like a lot of sports. Especially football – it’s my favourite sport. My uncle played football in Barcelona for nine years and played for Spain in three World Cups.”

— Rafael Nadal

76. “Confidence is the most important thing in this sport, and the confidence from winning Wimbledon would make it easier to win the Olympics, too. Either would be very difficult, both even more-but the player who wins Wimbledon will be the favorite for the Olympics. It can happen.”

— Rafael Nadal

77. “I am lucky because my family are comfortably off. My father has his own glass business.”

— Rafael Nadal

78. “I would love to learn other languages, maybe French? My uncle speaks German so maybe also German? Chinese seems to be too difficult.”

— Rafael Nadal

79. “And of one thing I have no doubt: the more you train, the better your feeling. Tennis is, more than most sports, a sport of the mind; it is the player who has those good sensations on the most days, who manages to isolate himself best from his fears and from the ups and downs in morale a match inevitably brings, who ends up being world number one.”

— Rafael Nadal

80. “I’m only superstitious on the tennis court.”

— Rafael Nadal

81. “In tennis, because of the way it’s scored, I don’t think that scoring one point out of luck is ever decisive in winning. But, of course, it depends on the moment.”

— Rafael Nadal

82. “It’s the same old story, all you think about is money.”

— Rafael Nadal

83. “Clark Kent and Superman.”

— Rafael Nadal

84. “I am not the most courageous guy in the world outside of the court.”

— Rafael Nadal

85. “Some people get very confused about my game. They think it’s better if the court is slow, because I have a good defence. But the faster it is, the better for me. My spin is more painful for my opponents, my aggressive game works better.”

— Rafael Nadal

86. “I am No. 8 in the world. I am not No. 100.”

— Rafael Nadal

87. “My tennis is aggressive, though I wouldn’t say that it’s more physical than technical. I rely more on technique than physique, but being physical is always a help to me.”

— Rafael Nadal

88. “For me, it is important to win titles and for that I need to work hard, stay healthy and be able to compete. The rest, I always say, it comes.”

— Rafael Nadal

89. “I love the crowds in Miami. I feel that is one of the tournaments where I get more support. That helps me a lot.”

— Rafael Nadal

90. “I’m always searching for new music, and I change what I listen to on a regular basis.”

— Rafael Nadal

91. “I am a guy who likes to do what I am doing with passion, whether it’s a soccer match with friends or golf.”

— Rafael Nadal

92. “I feel that love. I feel that energy. I always felt that energy when I’m playing in New York.”

— Rafael Nadal

93. “Last four months were great for me, was probably one of the best four months of my career, playing unbelievable in the clay court season.”

— Rafael Nadal

94. “I just wanted to see how the shorts felt again.”

— Rafael Nadal

95. “New York is a special place; it’s a city that I love.”

— Rafael Nadal

96. “I’m delighted and feel incredibly happy with what have been an amazing two months.”

— Rafael Nadal

97. “I have always tried to avoid regrets. Could I have done differently some things in my career? Maybe.”

— Rafael Nadal

98. “He’s a fantastic player and he’s going to be around so much longer so I’m happy with every one I get before he takes them all.”

— Rafael Nadal