Tennis great Nadal reveals physical struggles during COVID-19 lockdown
Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal recently provided a glimpse into his life during the Coronavirus-caused lockdown and said it was a difficult time for him.
The World No. 2, last week, clinched his 13th French Open title with a win over No. 1 ranked Novak Djokovic and in the process, equalled the record of Swiss great Roger Federer's 20 Slams.
Nadal, 34, said the shutdown took a toll on his body. “On a personal level, after the lockdown, I had really bad times and my body did not respond in the best possible way during the pandemic,” Nadal was quoted as saying by TennisWorld, USA.
“I had days where I could train very little and I had painful sensations throughout my body. Also, I had to do workouts without clear goals and this aggravated all my problems. The reality is that I had the right people by my side and they pushed me when needed, giving me freedom when I needed it,” he added.
The King of Clay said he struggled more mentally compared to others during his time in the bio-bubble. “Compared to my team, I suffered a lot more from the bubble. I am a person who prefers to be with people while for example, [my coach] Carlos Moya has always had the ability to fend for himself as well as my physiotherapist. For me, it is a bit more difficult. The days seemed really long, after three years I picked up a PlayStation controller and we played a lot against each other,” Nadal said.
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