Rafael Nadal may be retired, but his legacy keeps shining. Honored with his fifth Laureus Award—this time as a ‘Sporting Icon’—Rafa reflected on his career, retirement, and what’s next. In true our champ style, he spoke with honesty, humility, and heart. Here’s what he had to say:

Fifth Laureus Award: A Special Career Milestone

“It means a lot; it’s an award that comes from the world of sport, not just my own. It’s something more, very special—just thinking that I was in front of so many people I’ve watched on TV since I was a kid or even today, and they were standing to recognize my career—it’s hard to describe what that feels like. Thank you to everyone and to the Academy for thinking I deserve this great award. The Laureus Awards have always been very special to me. This is probably the last of my career, but the meaning of this one is unique.”

“I Don’t Miss It, Honestly — I Miss It Zero”

“I don’t miss it, honestly—I miss it zero. Not because I ended tired or had a bad relationship with tennis—far from it. I finished happy, and if I could, I’d still be playing. Tennis made me happy all my life. When you realize you can’t, you try to close the chapter, and I’ve done that. It took me a while because I needed time to be sure that the decision I was making was the right one. What I would’ve hated is to be sitting on the couch at home thinking I could still be out there playing. When I saw that my body wasn’t going to recover to the level I needed to keep enjoying it the way I need to, I made the decision to stop. I don’t miss it because I ended with the peace of knowing my body couldn’t give more. I still follow tennis—not obsessively—but I watch the matches that interest me and follow the results because I’m passionate about sport.”

Davis Cup Captain? Never Say Never

“I don’t know, that can’t be predicted. I’m passionate about sport, but you have to carve out your path. I’ve just finished a long journey, and I need to prepare for what’s next. I’ve had a family and a team that helped prepare me for what I loved for the future, and I don’t know what might happen with things like this. Obviously, I could be a candidate to be captain, but certain circumstances would need to align, and right now they don’t. I’m not saying no, not at all—but I’m always looking a few years ahead.”

Advice to His 20-Year-Old Self: Keep Going

“I wouldn’t say much—it didn’t turn out badly for him. Words have a certain power, yes, but what has more power are examples. They don’t necessarily have to be exceptional people doing exceptional things—it can be people around you who inspire you to do things well. And I had that. I was lucky to have a positive environment that gave me the stability I needed, and I was raised with the right values to develop my career naturally—without big fanfare when things went well or big dramas when they didn’t. I was able to build a career longer than I ever imagined.”

Nadal Foundation: Changing Lives Through Sport

“It’s going well. I think we’re meeting our goals, which were about progressive growth and making as few mistakes as possible in something so important and sensitive. We started by learning from others, and when we felt ready, we launched our own projects. We believe that through education and sport, we can change lives. Today we’ve helped more than a thousand families and we’re still growing. It’s daily work—I have a great team behind me to make sure the kids are cared for in the best way possible, and to give them a better environment than the one they were destined for. What we do is create opportunities by showing them a different world, and sport is a tool for that. All of us who’ve been fortunate have a duty or responsibility to give back a little, and that’s what I do—contribute my grain of sand. There are so many people who can help, each in their own way, and we can make this a better world.”

Source: as.com