Rafael Nadal: The Heart Of A Champion

There are moments as sports fans when you simply have to appreciate an athlete and the greatness they bring to the competition. 

Wednesday afternoon at Wimbledon was one of those days and the news of Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from Friday's semifinal match only elevates his final performance at the 2022 Wimbledon tournament. 

Nadal – the 22-time Grand Slam winner – found a way to win his quarterfinal match against American Taylor Fritz, battling through abdomen pain to win a five-set tiebreak in an all-time classic. 

During the match, Nadal aggravated a torn muscle in his abdomen, forcing the two-time Wimbledon champion to take a medical timeout during the second set. The broadcast panned to Nadal’s father, who appeared to implore his son to call it a day. 

That wasn’t an option for Nadal. 

“They told me to retire from the match,” Nadal said in his post-match press conference. “For me, it is tough to retire in the middle of a match. It’s not easy even if I had that idea for such a long time. But on the other hand, I did it a couple of times in my tennis career. It’s something that I hate to do it. So I just keep trying, and that’s it.”

As fans of sports, our demands on athletes are actually relatively tame. We don’t ask for perfection. We don’t ask for a win every time out. We simply ask for an all-out effort. And Nadal gave tennis everything he had on Wednesday. 

Nadal’s serve was nowhere near its usual speed, hovering around 100mph following the aggravation of his injury. But the crafty lefty found ways to win points, getting down in the fifth set before forcing a tiebreak. 

“In the abdominal something isn’t going well,” Nadal said after the match. “I had to find a way to serve a little bit different. For a lot of moments, I was thinking maybe I will not be able to finish the match.”

His championship resolve truly emerged in the tiebreak, as one of the greatest tennis players to ever live, simply overwhelmed his very talented but less experienced opponent. 

It was sports at its finest. 

A phenomenal competitor battling through pain, nowhere near his best, willing himself to victory.  

Nadal’s withdrawal from Friday’s semifinal against Nick Krygios is a huge blow to the world of tennis, as fans of the game will miss out on an opportunity to watch a great competitor battle for another title.

But we can all look back and appreciate Nadal’s resolve on Wednesday. He gave us everything he had. And that’s all we can ask.