Nick Kyrgios has heard ‘crazy’ stat about Rafael Nadal which has left him very intrigued 

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Nick Kyrgios has explained why he named Rafael Nadal as tennis’ most mentally resilient player.

The 29-year-old has played just one match since the 2022 season due to injury and in that time he has begun to forge a career as a tennis analyst and presenter.

He is using his knowledge and experience on the tour to craft insightful and engaging opinions of the game and his fellow players.

The Australian did just that on the latest episode of his Good Trouble Podcast when discussing the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

Nick Kyrgios discusses Rafael Nadal’s mental strength

Kyrgios has played multiple matches against the ‘Big Three’ of Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, in addition to many of the ATP Tour’s other top players.

On his podcast the 2022 Australian Open men’s doubles champion picked Nadal as the player who is most mentally tough on the tour.

When explaining his reasons Kyrgios mentioned the number of injuries Nadal has bounced back from. “Hard to go past Rafa, I think. One interesting stat for me with Rafa,” he said. “You look at the Grand Slams between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

“I think Rafa has been absent or injured for almost 20 or 30 slams. So that’s crazy. If he’s healthy for those, how many more does he have? And he just comes back, he always comes back.

“The match that stands out for me is the one against Medvedev. The final of the AO. Medvedev was on top of him. It was over. And he came back. I think it’s Rafa.”

Nadal has bounced back from plenty of injuries in his career

On numerous occasions Nadal has returned from long injury layoffs in emphatic fashion.

In 2013, the 37-year-old returned after seven months out with a knee injury went on to win 10 titles, including two Grand Slams, and returned to the World number one ranking.

Multiple fitness issues including a wrist injury saw Nadal end his 2016 season early. He proceeded to win two more majors and once again become the World number one the following year.

A persistent foot injury saw the tennis legend shut down his 2021 season in August, before returning at January’s 2022 Australian Open to win his 21st Grand Slam, which was a record at the time. He followed that by winning his 14th French Open title.

Nadal will aim for similar success as he makes his way back from a hip injury that saw him miss almost the entire 2023 season.