Rafael Nadal of Spain (AP Photo)

NEW DELHI: Rafael Nadal has opened up about the severe physical struggles he endured throughout his legendary tennis career, revealing how constant pain and difficult health decisions became a part of his journey to greatness.Speaking to the BBC, the 39-year-old admitted that his pursuit of success often pushed him to the edge physically. “I’ve had to make decisions about my health, where you are on the borderline between right or wrong,” Nadal said. “But if I hadn’t explored all that, I probably would have had 10 fewer Grand Slams…This is the reality.”Nadal was diagnosed with the rare Muller-Weiss syndrome in his foot in 2005, just months before winning his first French Open title at the age of 19. The condition, combined with the intense physical demands of professional tennis, constantly threatened his career.Despite the diagnosis, Nadal refused to give up. Over the next several years, he built one of the greatest careers in tennis history, winning multiple Grand Slam titles and dominating clay courts like no player before him.But behind the trophies and celebrations, Nadal admitted he was constantly worried about how long his body would hold up.“Tennis became a race against time,” Nadal. “Always doubting my head about how long I can last with this foot? I never knew how long my career would last.”“I always thought, maybe it’s the last year, so there’s no time to stop.”The physical toll eventually led to serious knee problems and intestinal issues caused by prolonged use of painkillers. Nadal also revealed that during some tournaments he required anaesthetic injections just to compete.He admitted that during his final Grand Slam triumph at the 2022 French Open, he was playing with almost no feeling in his leg.Still, Nadal says his love for tennis kept him going through the pain. “The key was that the suffering was less than my passion and my happiness for what I was doing,” he explained.