# Nadal’s pain revealed: how he beat Müller-Weiss to rule 2026-08-09T01:59:04+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet A judge of the Madras High Court, N. Anand Venkatesh, has written an essay on Rafael Nadal's career, drawing from the Netflix documentary series RAFA. The piece reveals that Nadal played through Müller-Weiss syndrome, a rare foot condition where the bone wastes away, using custom foam in his shoes and nerve-block injections to win the French Open. The judge writes that Nadal refused surgery, which would have ended his career, and instead chose to compete in constant pain. His on-court routines, often called superstitions, were a mental shield against agony. Venkatesh argues this story teaches the youth that pain need not be a dead end. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: documentary, Müller-Weiss syndrome, Rafael Nadal, sports injuries, tennis Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/nadals-pain-revealed-how-he-beat-muller-weiss-to-rule/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/nadals-pain-revealed-how-he-beat-muller-weiss-to-rule/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.