However, once the race is run, the stats are tabulated and the paeans are written, these elite athletes are sometimes seen reconnecting with that primal pleasure. This week, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, owners of a combined 45 Grand Slam singles titles, made a fleeting return to the court—not to reignite the fervour that made them dominant, but simply to feel the tingle of ball on racquet again.
Nadal, not yet 40 but living with a battered body he had willed through years on the circuit, posted a clip of a match-up against 20-year-old Filipino Alex Eala, a rising player from his academy. Nadal had not been seen on a court for over a year after calling time on his career in November 2024. In the brief 41-second clip, there were glimpses of his signature forehand and beads of sweat, but also three distinct smiles. A core memory had been reignited — perhaps reminding him of a time when he was simply Rafa, a fearless slammer of tennis balls who loved the sound they made off his racquet.
Another social media post this week featured four photographs set to the tune of “My Girl” by the Temptations. On the same side of the court stood Serena Williams, now 44, and her two-year-old daughter Adira. “This is me sharing my passion for tennis with my youngest daughter,” read the caption. More than three years have passed since Williams last played a professional match, yet she keeps returning to the court in quiet moments away from the spotlight. In July, she shared a photo of Adira on her hip on the tennis court, joking, “I never thought I would have to carry my doubles partner.” Her older daughter Olympia, eight, has “natural talent,” though Serena jokes she “doesn’t actually like to play tennis too much.”
These glimpses of retired greats reveal the purity of their connection to the sport. In July, Roger Federer, who describes himself as “not a professional tennis player anymore,” gave in to the temptation of a hit on the Wimbledon practice courts, where he won eight titles. The 40-second video showed him moving with familiar elegance, wife Mirka watching and friend Tommy Haas rallying with him, all set to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” “Couldn’t resist, Wimbledon,” he wrote — and he truly could not.
Competitive sport is a relentless, all-consuming treadmill. Yet when the best step away from the centre-stage, we catch rare glimpses of them in gentler, quieter arenas. These are spaces where they are no longer chasing glory or playing for everyone else. It is just a racquet, a ball, a court — and them. It is what they fell in love with.