Rafael Nadal opens up about his unfulfilled dreams on and off the court: "I've achieved more than I could ever have dreamed"

In a candid interview, Rafael Nadal spoke about his remaining dreams in his life both in his personal life on the court and his professional life on the court. The interview was conducted by two kids and the Spaniard cheerfully answered the question.

After finally coming out of the injury concerns, Nadal came back on the ATP tour to participate in the Barcelona Open. However, the Spaniard could not progress much further in the tournament, as Alex de Minaur defeated him in the second round.

Recently, Nadal gave an interview on Instagram answering various questions regarding his life. One question addressed to him was about his remaining dreams that the Spanish player wished to fulfill both on and off the court.

"What a dream you have to yet fulfill outside and inside tennis"? via Instagram

Answering the question, Nadal admitted that it was time for him to spend more time with his family. Nadal and his wife Maria Parello welcomed their first child a couple of years back. Nadal admitted that his dream now is to watch his son grow, help him in his education, and go on trips with his family.

"No eh I mean outside of tennis my day by day the truth eh I guess watching the family grow up eh um be able to share with them the whole process of education of growth which is also a learning process for me and well visiting places together," said Nadal.

From the perspective of on-court ambitions, Nadal was clear that the mere fact that he was playing on the tour despite having such injuries was enough for him. He stated that he was content with what he had achieved in his long playing career.

"And from a professional level, the truth is that no, my dream is simply be able to be here, and try to play here in Barcelona no no, in terms of results I think I have achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of so no I can't ask for anything else," said Nadal.

2024 is possibly going to be Nadal's last year on the ATP tour

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Nadal, while talking to the press, has made some strong indications that 2024 is going to be his last year as a professional tennis player. In a Twitter post made in December 2023, Nadal hinted in no uncertain terms that 2024 would be the last season on the ATP tour.

"There is a good chance it will be my last year, without a doubt," said Nadal on X.

Even the 2024 season has been a topsy-turvy season for the Spaniard. He started the season at the Brisbane International, where he sustained another injury. That made him withdraw from major tournaments like the Australian Open and Monte-Carlo Masters.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been one of the most prolific players in ATP history. On the grand slam list, he is only behind Novak Djokovic with 24 and is sixth on the list of most weeks as number one. Nadal's rivalry with Federer and Djokovic was the hallmark of men's tennis in the last two decades.