The mental coaching is too often swept by the sportsmen. However, the best know how to recognize the benefits of this type of coaching because it can make the difference in the short term as well as in the long term.

Rafael Nadal is one of the best tennis players in the world, and a source of inspiration for all tennis players, from padel, and other sports.

Here are 10 lessons learned from Rafa Nadal coaching that will help you positively, stay motivated, and manage losses and wins.

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Here are 5 coaching lessons:

  1. Know how to lose. Humility is the key to success in any sporting context. It is important to have humility in a defeat, and to recognize that the opponent has been stronger. But it's even more important to be humble in a win to keep your feet on the ground.
  1. Enjoy the moment. In his eighth title at Roland Garros, Rafa Nadal said he was aware that it was necessary to enjoy such moments because they do not last forever. In other words, celebrate your success, and enjoy those victories that will bring a sweet flavor to your life.

  1. Think about the future. Keep your mind on the future. Victories and losses are not absolute but relative: after one game, the time has come to think about the next.
  1. Sport and family. Support and trust in family and loved ones bring great professional strength to all athletes who are trying to balance their personal project with the sport. Shared successes are appreciated twice.
  1. Do not lose the illusion. If you lose the illusion, there is no point in continuing to play padel. Rafa Nadal is always enthusiastic like a child in every victory, he is not used to success because he is aware that victory is not free, but the fruit of his efforts.

Here are the 5 main values ​​of Rafa Nadal:

  1. Smile to triumph. The winner is not only shown in wins, it is very easy to smile in those moments. However, the real know-how comes when you have to congratulate your opponent for his victory.
  1. humility. Humility is the true key to the success of personal improvement. An athlete is not only aware of his strengths, but also of his weaknesses. And then, he knows that the real essence of triumph is training.
  1. Fight to the last point. Rafa Nadal is constant, fight until the last second of the match, because he knows that you must not give anything for lost before time. And in this constancy lies the true inner satisfaction, of having finished a match knowing that you have given the best of yourself.

  1. The Olympic spirit. The most important thing in sports is not winning, but that love of the Olympic spirit that is the main motivation of those who really love their sport.
  1. Emotion. In sport, it's not just technique, but also emotion. An athlete who is emotional at heart experiences sport in a unique way. There is one essential value that makes Rafa Nadal shine with all his fires with his own light: dignity. And this is the key to his charisma. To be a person before being a tennis player, and to act with honesty and simplicity.
Alexis Dutour

Alexis Dutour is passionate about padel. With his training in communication and marketing, he puts his skills at the service of padel to offer us articles that are always very interesting.