Rafael Nadal will retire from tennis as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

But it turns out tennis is not the only sport that the Spaniard could have starred in.

Nadal leaves the game as a legend, after entertaining audiences for decadesGetty

Nadal has announced that he will finally bid farewell to the game after a career which has spanned over 20 years.

He leaves the game with 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 French Opens which he won as the undisputed ‘King of Clay’.

Only his long-time rival Novak Djokovic has won more Grand Slams, with a tally of 24 and counting.

But at one crucial moment, Nadal almost found himself starring in a very different sport indeed – golf!

Instead of Grand Slams, it could have been Majors that the 38-year-old was competing in after it was revealed back in 2011 that he almost switched out racquets for clubs.

In his autobiography Rafa, he opened up about a particularly difficult moment in his career when a foot injury in 2005 made him question his entire future in tennis.

He relates how after one gruelling five-set victory over Ivan Ljubicic in Madrid, doctors had discovered a congenital bone issue in his left foot.

It was an injury which left him ‘without appetite for life’ and it was at this point he considered golf might be a more appropriate sport for him.

“[The] diagnosis had initially been like a shot to the head,” Nadal wrote. “The bone still hurts me. It remains under control, just, but we can never drop our guard.”

To make matters more difficult, Nadal then revealed how the toll of learning of his parents’ divorce had made his recovery from injury even more difficult.

Nadal’s been unlucky with injuries – but he remembers this one was especially badGetty

And golf could have been his new number one sport had he not battled through the injuryGetty

“My attitude was bad,” he remembers in the book. “I was depressed, lacking in enthusiasm.

“[My team] knew something had to give. My knees were the immediate reason but I knew the root cause was my state of mind.”

Nadal has been plagued by injuries throughout his long career, including recently in 2023 when a hip injury kept him out for most of the tennis season.

However, he credited his uncle and coach Toni in the book for instilling a sense of resilience and mental fortitude in him which has served him well.

“There was no let-up from Toni,” he remembered. “No mercy. I look back at that teenage Rafael and I am proud of him.

“He set a benchmark of endurance that has served me as an example and as a reminder…if you want something badly enough, no sacrifice is too great.”

Nadal has been no stranger to some hard-fought wins in his career, particularly against the likes of Roger Federer.

Having been defeated by the Swiss legend in his first three Wimbledon finals, Nadal said it was this strength that kept him going.

He wrote: “What I battle hardest to do in a tennis match is to quiet the voices in my head, to shut everything out of my mind… should a thought of victory suggest itself, crush it.”

He added: “I think I have the capacity to accept difficulties and overcome them that is superior to many of my rivals.”