Rafael Nadal: What do you fear most?

The question

Originally asked

Vanity Fair, to its interview subject, The Proust Questionnaire

The exact prompt is fixed in Vanity Fair's Proust Questionnaire and independently sustained in The Guardian's The Q&A over multiple decades.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Rafael Nadal

Spanish professional tennis player, 2001–2024

Recorded said elsewhere, not written here

I don’t think I have one in particular. I am pretty calm. Just some small things that I better not comment on :-).

Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2010 source ↗

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Daphne Guinness British socialite

Aggression without provocation or consequences.

Recorded The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 July 2024 source ↗

Sally Mann Photographer

The loss of a child.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, March 2018 source ↗

Cyndi Lauper

A world where greed rules.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, April 2020 source ↗

Christian Louboutin

Losing my virginity.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, September 2021 source ↗

More from Rafael Nadal

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Question What does happiness look like for you when life is going well? Identity & self

Playing tennis, competing, winning, but also being at home in Spain, in Majorca, with my friends and family.

Recorded The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, 1 October 2010 source ↗

Question What are you unwilling to optimise? Values & belief

These tics do bother me. Could I play a match without them? Yes, without some of them. I don't have to touch my nose or put my hair behind my ears before I serve. That's possible to stop. Not putting the bottles in front of my chair, I could go without that, too. But adjusting my underwear, that I could never get rid of. It's impossible.

Recorded Town & Country, 1 January 2025 source ↗

Question What is an unusual habit or small pleasure you are oddly fond of? Daily life

If I don't do that with the bottles, then I sit down, I could be thinking of something else. If I do always the same things, it means that I am focused and I'm alert to think purely about tennis.

Recorded Jon Wertheim, 60 Minutes, CBS, CBS News / 60 Minutes, 5 July 2020 source ↗

Question Who alive today do you admire most, and what draws you to them? Values & belief

Just normal people from my hometown, from my country.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2010 source ↗

Question What trait do you most dislike in other people? Values & belief

Selfishness and no respect for the others.

Recorded Vanity Fair, The Proust Questionnaire, Vanity Fair, October 2010 source ↗

Question When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, what do you do? Daily life

Sometimes when I'm in the first round or second round, and I'm not playing well, I say, okay, just accept it. Don't get frustrated. Just accept and focus.

Recorded Jon Wertheim, 60 Minutes, CBS, CBS News / 60 Minutes, 5 July 2020 source ↗

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