Gauff on Nadal: "The intensity he put on the court is incomparable"

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It is indeed the news of the week, at least. Rafa Nadal puts an end to his career, years in which he has continuously had an impact on the lives of billions of people who followed him as fans or who crossed paths with him as a colleague. Coco Gauff, ranked 4th in the world, openly expresses what the Spaniard means to her, declaring herself his fan and wishing to emulate his legacy.

Her heartfelt words about Rafa Nadal's retirement

"He was or is my favorite person to watch playing. Sometimes we talk about retirements as if they were dead. Honestly, he is my favorite person to watch training. The intensity he put into training on the court and in matches is incomparable. I got a little emotional watching the video, because Rafa is everything I knew when I was little," confesses Coco in a press conference.

"I'm sure he has won Roland Garros most of my life. I guess it's something unfortunate that happens to everyone someday. I hope it was on his terms. I know that maybe this year he didn't have as many injury-free moments as he would have liked. I remember he congratulated me last year for reaching the Roland Garros final. I did a somersault because I couldn't believe he was talking to me.

In fact, I think I didn't post it on social media, but we exchanged pins at the Olympics, which was all I wanted to do. He was super nice. Both of us were waiting for the shuttle, it was the last one of the day, around 11 at night. Carlos was also there, but he didn't have any pins. It's something I will remember, that I will tell my children, because it means a lot to me."

What legacy would you like to leave in tennis?

"Basically, everything I described about him off the court. One thing is the great achievements on the court, but I think it is important how you treat people off the court. I am his fan. How he treated me is something I remember more than his victories. I would like my legacy to be like that. You can win a large number of trophies, but what people remember is who you are and how you made them feel. I try to remind myself of this when interacting with fans or with everyone."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Gauff, sobre Nadal: "La intensidad que ponía en la pista es incomparable"