Veteran Rafael Nadal, on Monday, was awarded the illustrious Laureus Sporting Icon award by the Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid. The Spaniard was honored by the organization to pay tribute to his glorious career.

This is the fifth time Nadal has been awarded by the Laureus World Sports. Meanwhile, Nadal called time on his glittering career in November 2024 after struggling with injuries in the last couple of seasons.

“I don’t miss it, honestly, I miss it zero. Not because I ended up tired or struggling with tennis, not at all. I ended up happy and if I could have I would have continued playing, tennis has made me happy all my life. When you realize that you can’t, you try to close the stage, and I have closed it. It took me as long as I did because I needed time to be convinced that the decision I was making was appropriate,” Nadal said in his speech at the awards.

The Spaniard revealed his body was no longer ready for the adversities of the tour, and thus he decided to hang his racquet.

“I don’t miss it because I ended up with the peace of mind that my body couldn’t handle anything more. I follow tennis, I don’t watch a lot of matches, but I watch the ones that interest me and I follow the results because I am passionate about the sport,” he said.

Nadal added that his body was not recovering and he wasn’t able to play at the level he used to play.

“What I would have taken very badly is the idea that I was on the couch at home thinking that I could be there playing. When I saw that my body was not going to recover to the level it needed to continue enjoying the way I need, I made the decision to stop,” Nadal said.

Nadal won a total of 22 Grand Slam titles in his amazing career.