‘An important part of my life is leaving too,’ says emotional Rafael Nadal
The French tennis star Rafael Nadal has insisted leaving his wife, kids and fans behind meant he was leaving ‘an important part of the team’.
The Spaniard left behind his wife, twins and his three-year-old son to become part of a team in the US and had the support of his family.
But when the time came for him to return, he said the decision was never about his family and was always about ‘the project’.
Rafael came out of retirement to win Wimbledon last year – becoming the first man to win that title in 40 years – and has since won three more Grand Slams.
But Nadal has since left his family to join his team in New York City, where he is helping the US Tennis Association to improve the sport in the US. He was joined by his family, but his wife and twins were not.
When asked if he was happy at his decision to leave, the tennis legend, who is married to Spain’s former tennis star Jennifer Capriati, said: “It was not a easy decision. But I think it was the one that I had to make. I had to grow as a person and I had to change.
“It was important for me to grow as a person. I never felt better. I always knew that this is what I had to do.”
After winning his first Grand Slam title at the French Open last year, Nadal announced he was also quitting competitive tennis, telling reporters: “Thank God, I’m not playing tennis anymore.”
However, there were reports in Spain of his wife having said Nadal had just left her in the past few weeks.
‘I left my family’
But it is not just the tennis world, which Nadal has been a part of since 2013, that has been supporting him, with an incredible outpouring of support.
The former world number one tweeted out to his fans to let them know that his decision to leave was personal to him and that he was not leaving his family behind.
“I am very happy, and thank you for the support, in this decision,” he wrote. “I want to thank also the members of my team and the people that have been supporting me during this process, it has been a very difficult one but I believe it’s the