Rafael Nadal has not played on the ATP circuit again since his elimination by Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16 of the 2022 US Open, and during the almost two-month break he became the father of a little boy. The Spaniard, who will return to the court at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris, spoke about the changes in his life.

Rafael Nadal no longer necessarily wants to occupy the first place in the ATP ranking

Aged 36 and plagued by injuries, Rafa (ATP No. 2) said it was no longer his goal to be No. 1 in the white sport.

Winner of 92 ATP singles titles, Nadal held the world number one spot for 209 weeks. The Iberian finished five seasons on the highest step of the hierarchy.

“I’m glad to be back on the track after a while. I haven’t been able to play much in the last five months. I am proud of everything I have achieved and can achieve in 2022.

To be clear, I realize this is a talking point for you guys, but I’m not fighting to be #1, just to be competitive in every tournament I enter. This is what I said a long time ago.

I have done this in the past, I have achieved this goal several times in my career, moments that were very happy and moments that I was proud to achieve. However, I am now at a stage in my career where I am no longer fighting to be first.

When you have a very positive year, being #1 or not is a consequence of everything you did that year. Obviously, when I became No. 1 for the first time in my career in 2008, I wanted to be there because in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 I had an incredible run, winning a lot of tournaments and gaining a lot of ranking points.

However, there was someone like Roger (Federer) in front of me. Today is a different story, I don’t know how many tournaments I played, I think ten, and I could only finish eight. It’s hard to be the No. 1 in the world, but I’m happy to be in a position that shows that when I played, I did very well.” Rafael Nadalquoted by France 24.

In the second round of the Paris Masters, Rafael Nadal (the second favorite) will meet the American Tommy Paul (31 ATP).

ATP ranking in real time

1. Carlos Alcaraz 6650 points

2. Rafael Nadal 5820

3. Stefanos Tsitsipas 5000

4. Kasper Ruud 4940

5. Daniil Medvedev 4,065, etc.

Father Rafael Nadal: “It’s hard to leave the house”

At the beginning of October, one of the happiest moments in his life happened to Rafael Nadal: he became the father of a little boy.

Francisca Maria Perello (34 years old) gave birth in Palma de Mallorca, and the child was named after the great champion of Iberia: Rafael Nadal Perello.

“It’s different, it’s a different approach than usual. To be honest, it’s always hard to leave the house (no laughing). It’s funny, it’s really unbelievable, I’ve known my son for three weeks and I can already miss him, right?

This is a new experience, all changes in this life are difficult and you have to adapt. However, it’s true that we’re lucky with technology these days, we can make video calls whenever we want, so that helps a lot.” – Rafael Nadalreports the ATP Tour.

Recently, Rafa was not fully focused on the competitions in which he participated (US Open and Laver Cup), he was worried about the health of his wife, who was hospitalized several times.

Nadal and Perello have been together for 18 years and got married in October 2019.