"Serena Williams always said she was the best, Rafael Nadal never said" - Former WTA No. 1 explains why she prefers Spaniard's mental approach

Former WTA No. 1 Dinara Safina likened herself to Rafael Nadal in terms of their attitudes after establishing themselves as the top-ranked players in women's and men's tennis, respectively. Safina claimed that the "Spanish approach" to sports in general produces athletes who believe in pushing themselves instead of becoming arrogant.

On Tuesday, March 11, Russian sports media outlet Sports.ru published an elaborate interview with Safina, who became the WTA No. 1 in April 2009. The Russian, 38 now, also reached the finals of three Grand Slams (2008 and 2009 editions of French Open and 2009 Australian Open). One of the questions fielded to her was about her thoughts when she was the top-ranked women's singles player in the world.

Dinara Safina, the sister of former ATP No. 1 Marat Safin, claimed that she never took her position for granted and kept working hard knowing that any sort of arrogance would come at a great cost. She also spoke up about the radically different mentality of fellow former WTA No. 1 and 23-time singles Major champion Serena Williams.

"I didn’t have this feeling that I’m the best and I’ll beat everyone now. I basically had an adequate attitude and understood that if I didn’t continue to work, I would quickly lose this position in the ranking. Serena, of course, always said that she was the best – but that’s a completely different mentality," Safina told Sports.ru.

She went on to cite the example of the legendary Rafael Nadal, who called time on his tennis-playing career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. According to Safina, her approach to being No. 1 was similar to that of the Spaniard's.

"And even Nadal, being the number one tennis player and winning Grand Slams, never said in an interview that he was the best. On the contrary, about any opponent: he plays so well and if I don’t show my best tennis, I’ll lose. I am more inclined to this approach," Safina added.

The Russian also shed light on how Spanish athletes are generally brought up, with their mentors and coaches making it a priority to ensure that they never get overconfident.

"It's a truly Spanish approach. I know many Spaniards, and they have a clear limitation - don't be arrogant. He grew up in a family of athletes. His uncle was a very famous football player. Rafa understood how difficult it is to achieve sporting achievements. And if you suddenly think that you are the best, you can stumble. It's a sober view that brings you down to earth. If I don't play well, I'll get beat. And you have to be very down to earth to constantly improve," she continued.

Not long after pulling the curtain down on his illustrious career, Nadal disclosed a life lesson he learned thanks to his uncle and longtime coach Toni.

"I went out fishing when I could have been training" - Rafael Nadal's candid recollection of lesson learned from uncle Toni

Toni Nadal (left) and Rafael Nadal (right) at the 2017 French Open (Source: Getty)

Through an essay on The Players' Tribune, Rafael Nadal laid bare last year how a particular chastening experience from his younger years proved significant in the long run. The experience involved prudent advice from his uncle Toni, who guided his nephew to 16 out of his 22 singles Major titles.

"One day, I went out fishing when I could have been training. The next day, I lost my match. I was crying in the car on the way back home, and my uncle, who at that young age had a big influence on me, and who was the one who made me fall in love with tennis, he said: “It’s OK, it’s just a tennis match. Don’t cry now, there is no point. If you want to fish, you can fish. No problem. But you will lose. If you want to win? If you want to win, then you have to do what you have to do first."," Nadal wrote.

After parting ways with uncle Toni, Nadal went on to enjoy a successful collaboration with another former ATP No. 1 in Carlos Moya, who served as the Spaniard's coach right up until the end of his younger compatriot's career.