Nadal says he has "never" gone to a psychologist

One of the great virtues of Rafael Nadal is having an oak mind, which has allowed him to carry out countless matches throughout his long career.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
03 November 2022 Thursday 04:33
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Nadal says he has "never" gone to a psychologist

One of the great virtues of Rafael Nadal is having an oak mind, which has allowed him to carry out countless matches throughout his long career. That innate quality has not had to work on it even in his worst moments. He secured it on Wednesday night following the loss to Tommy Paul in his first match at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000.

The Majorcan tennis player spoke about Carlos Alcaraz's initiative to resort to psychological help to deal with top competition. He said he supports and understands the idea, although he commented that he has "never" needed therapy to play tennis. "It is true that I had an episode of anxiety in 2015, but then it was not a psychologist's issue, it was something else (...) If you have anxiety about other things, it is something different, it is something more important."

After the disappointing loss against the American in two and a half hours, Nadal said that his intention is to be in the Turin Masters Cup in mid-November, although he is not optimistic about his chances of victory. "For me it is hard to imagine now reaching the ATP finals well enough to win a tournament that I have never achieved throughout my career," he said.

"In mathematics I failed, so I wouldn't know how to tell you percentages. What I think is that I'm going to go, I don't see another plan in my head if nothing happens between now and Sunday. My intention is to be there," he commented at the conference. post-match press.

The Spaniard said that "he has nothing to lose" in the Masters Cup, although he acknowledged that he lacks more matches on the circuit. "You never know when he will be the last, especially at my age," he said again, insisting that he lives day to day.

The tennis player with the most Grand Slam titles (22) arrived with several mental and physical questions: he was a first-time father on October 8 and had not competed in singles since he fell in the round of 16 at the US Open two months ago against the American Frances Tiafoe . However, she didn't want to make excuses for her defeat. "This is always the same. If you play well, you win, if you don't, you lose. There were times when I was playing well, but not in the key moments," she analyzed.

Nadal explained that he faced a rival who is having a good season and that today he showed "good shots" and was "concentrated".