Rafael Nadal has had an atypical year. Following an injury, Nadal hasn’t played tennis for the majority of the year and is recuperating in order to make a comeback next year. In a conversation held on the Movistar+ stage, Nadal explained that it was very important for him to disconnect over the past year and separarte himself from the sport.

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“I do a little gym, yes, but I also needed to disconnect from everything. The sea disconnects me a lot, I have the impression that the hours are completely different from those we have on land,” he said.

Nadal also revealed that the break allowed him to be fully disconnected, not even watching tennis on TV. “I was able to enjoy it, not be too attached to my cell phone or the television, follow the news, but it didn’t go any further. I tried to disconnect in every way possible. I watched very little tennis,” he said.

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Nadal’s break from watching tennis matches

Nadal was so disconnected that he didn’t know the winners of the most important titles, including Novak Djokovic, who won the US Open Grand Slam title. “The truth is that I haven’t sent any message to Djokovic yet out of pure ignorance,” he said at the Movistar+ arena.

When you win something so important, from experience I know it’s better to take the time to appreciate that message. I’ll send it but I haven’t done it yet. Of course, I sent messages to Alcaraz when he won or when he was about to win. The others – on the circuit I don’t have many friends left, I’m from another generation. I talk to Federer every now and then,” he said.