网球，作为一项高度国际化的体育运动，几乎为有志职业的青少年设定了一个不成文的规则：学好外语，拿到“通行证”。熟读唐诗三百首，不会作诗也会吟。这大概是最接地气的语言学习法吧。朗读和背诵，这俩家伙看似古老，却依然能在这个信息时代，给我们开个捷径。青少年球员试试读读纳达尔退役后的一篇小作文《天赐》，背一背它，或许就能在不知不觉中，拥有一股来自潜意识的力量，助你追逐梦想。
When I was young, I learned a lesson that stillresonates strongly in my mind.I'm not exactly sure how old I was, but I think Iwas around 12 years old. At that time, I loved to go fishing. I love the seabecause I am from Mallorca and, in my case, the sea is part of my life. It'sabout the feeling of being by the sea, sitting on the rocks with your familyand friends, or out on a boat; the disconnect and peace you feel is somethingspecial.1 年幼的时候，我曾学到一个至今仍令我刻骨铭心的教训。回想起来，虽然不太确定那时自己几岁，但大概是在十二岁左右。那时，我迷恋钓鱼。因为我是马略卡岛人，而对我来说，大海便是生活的一部分。那种与海亲近的感觉，宛如是自然与生命的融合——无论是与家人朋友一起坐在岩石上，静听海风的低语，还是乘舟漫游，漂浮在碧波之上；那种远离尘世、心灵宁静的感觉，是一种独特的、几乎能使人忘却一切的体验。（钓鱼、海风、乘舟、岩石……平静中透着一股属于少年时光的纯粹与无忧。）One day, Iwent fishing when I could have been training. The next day, I lost the match. Iremember crying in the car on the way back home, and my uncle, who at that agehad a great influence on me and was the one who made me fall in love withtennis, told me: "It's okay, it's just a tennis match. Don't cry now, itdoesn't make sense. If you want to fish, you can fish. No problem. But you aregoing to lose. If you want to win? If you want to win, then you have to do whatyou have to do first." It was a very important lesson for me. If peoplesee me as a perfectionist, it comes from that inner voice that spoke to me onthe way back home. That voice has never left me. One day, I can be at sea.Today, and tomorrow... I have to train.第二天，我输掉了比赛。记得回家的路上，我在车里默默抽泣，而那个在我生命中至关重要的叔叔（也是引领我爱上网球的人）看着我，轻声说道：“没关系，这只是一场网球比赛。现在哭泣并无意义。如果你喜欢钓鱼，去吧，没问题。但你会输的。如果你想赢呢？想要胜利，那就得先做该做的事。”这番话，成了我一生中最为重要的座右铭。若说我的完美主义源自哪里，那便是来自回程中的那句内心深处的呐喊。这个声音从未离开过我。某一天，我或许会在大海上漫游，但今天、明天……我必须训练。（钓鱼与训练的抉择，是对梦想的清醒提醒，生活永远不会同时给你鱼与熊掌。）I wasn't a child who had sports idols. I suppose ithas to do with my Mallorcan character. My heroes were people I knew in reallife. But when I was 12, I got to play with Carlos Moyà for the first time. Acompatriot, also from Mallorca. The French Open champion and the first Spanishplayer to be No. 1. I was nervous just thinking that I was going to hit someballs with him. It was an unforgettable experience, a window to another world.Tennis was transforming from something just for fun — a children's game — intoa real goal to make it a way of life. It made me dream a little more. One day,maybe I can play in Roland-Garros...我猜这和我的马略卡性格有关。我的英雄是我在现实生活中认识的人。12岁那年，我第一次和卡洛斯·莫亚一起打球了——一个同胞，也是来自马略卡岛的网球运动员，法网冠军，也是第一个成为世界排名第一的西班牙球员。我光是想着和他一起打球就紧张不已。那是一次难以忘怀的经历，是通向另一个世界的窗户。网球从一种纯粹为了娱乐、孩子们的游戏，转变成了一个真正的目标，成为一种生活方式。这让我多了一些梦想。也许有一天，我能在法网打球……（卡洛斯·莫亚是为纳达尔打开职业网球新天地的引路人。）But pain is one of life's great teachers. I got injured when I was 17 and was told that I might never play professional tennis again. I learned that things can end in an instant. It wasn't just a minor fracture in my foot, it was an illness. An incurable disease, only manageable: Mueller-Weiss Syndrome. What does that mean? You go from the greatest joy to waking up the next day unable to walk. I spent many days at home crying, but it was a great lesson in humility, and I was lucky to have a father — the true influence in my life — who was always very positive. "We will find a solution," he said. "And if we don't, there are other things in life beyond tennis." Hearing those words, I could hardly process them, but thankfully, after much pain, surgeries, rehabilitation, and tears, a solution was found, and throughout all these years, I was able to keep fighting through it.17岁那年，我受伤了，被告知可能再也无法继续职业网球生涯。我终于明白，很多事情可以在一瞬间结束。那不仅仅是脚上的小骨折，而是一种无法治愈的病——穆勒·韦斯综合症。那意味着什么呢？你从无比的快乐中突然醒来，发现自己再也不能行走。我在家里哭泣了好几天，但这却是一次深刻的谦卑教训，而我幸运拥有一个伟大的爸爸——他是我生命中最重要的引导者——始终保持积极。“我们会找到办法的，”他说，“即便找不到，人生也不仅仅只有网球，还有很多很多选择。”听到这些话时，我几乎无法理解。但幸运的是，经过无数的痛苦、手术、康复与泪水，最终找到了解决的途径，这些年里，我仍能继续努力，坚定地与命运抗争。（痛苦教会的，不只是忍耐，而是如何从痛苦中重生。）Tennis is a sport that demands a lot from youmentally, but there are many moments of joy that I will never forget. The DavisCup in 2004, Roland-Garros in 2005, of course Wimbledon in 2008. But thenthere's my first US Open, and when I completed the Grand Slam tournamentscircle in Melbourne. And I don't forget those tournaments like Madrid andBarcelona in my country, or Indian Wells in Miami, or Cincinnati, where I wonfor the first time in 2013, or the beautiful Monte Carlo, or the specialfeeling of Rome, or Shanghai and Beijing with those amazing fans... Canada,Mexico, Chile, Brazil, my early days in Buenos Aires... so many moments. I amfull of incredible memories. Yet, you can never stop demanding from yourself.You can never relax. You always need to improve; that has been the constant inmy life. Always pushing your limits and getting better. That's how I became abetter player.5 网球是一项需要巨大精神投入的运动，但其中也有许多难以忘怀的快乐时光。2004年的戴维斯杯，2005年的法网，当然，还有2008年的温布尔登。但同样令人难忘的，还有我第一个美网冠军，和在墨尔本实现大满贯双圈梦想的时刻。我不会忘记那些在西班牙本土的马德里和巴塞罗那，或者迈阿密的印第安维尔斯，辛辛那提——2013年首次夺冠的地方，亦或是美丽的蒙特卡洛，或罗马那独特的氛围，上海与北京那些令人惊叹的球迷……加拿大、墨西哥、智利、巴西，我在布宜诺斯艾利斯的初步时光……如此多的瞬间，汇成了我心中无数美好的回忆。然而，永远不能停下对自己的要求，永远不能放松。你必须不断进步，这便是我生命中的常态。总是在突破极限，努力变得更好。正是这样，我才成为了更好的球员。（胜利的喜悦像光芒四射的烟火，但背后却是不断突破极限的无尽努力。）For 30 years, the image I projected to the worldwasn't always what I felt inside. Honestly, I have always been nervous before everymatch I've played, that never goes away. Every night before a match, I would goto bed feeling like I could lose (and also when I woke up in the morning!). Intennis, the difference between players is very small, and among opponents evensmaller. When you step onto the court, anything can happen, so all your sensesmust be alert, alive. That feeling, the internal fire, the nerves, theadrenaline of stepping out and seeing a full court, is a feeling that is verydifficult to describe. It's a feeling only a few can understand, and somethingI'm sure will never be the same now that I'm retiring as a professional. Therewill still be some moments playing exhibitions and maybe other sports as well.I will always compete and try to give my best, but it won't be the same feelingas stepping out in front of the fans in any stadium.
6 三十年来，我展示给世界的形象，并不总是我内心的真实写照。坦白说，我每次比赛前都会感到紧张，这种紧张感从未消失过。每次比赛前的晚上，我躺在床上想着，或许我会输（早晨醒来时，依然如此！）。在网球这项运动中，球员之间的差距极其微小，甚至对手之间的差距也几乎可以忽略不计。当你踏上球场时，一切皆有可能，因此你所有的感官都必须保持警觉与活力。那种内心的火焰、紧张感以及站在满场观众面前所激发的肾上腺素，难以言喻。只有少数人能够理解那种感觉，而我确信，在我退役后，这种感觉将再也无法重现。当然，我依旧会参加一些表演赛，或许也会尝试其他运动。我将永远保持竞争的心态，尽全力展现自己，但那种在任何体育场观众面前迈步的感觉，将永远消失。（退役后的遗憾并非身体的离场，而是那种紧张与肾上腺素的交织让人心跳加速感觉的随风而逝。）For most of my career, I was good at controllingthose emotions... with one exception. I went through a very difficult time,mentally, a few years ago. I was very accustomed to physical pain, but therewere moments on the court where I struggled to control my breathing andcouldn't play at the highest level. I have no problem admitting it now. Afterall, we are humans, not superheroes. The person you see on the center courtwith a trophy is a person. Exhausted, relieved, happy, grateful — just aperson. Thankfully, I didn't reach the point of not being able to controlthings like anxiety, but there are moments with every player where it's hard tocontrol the mind, and when that happens, it's hard to have total control ofyour game. There were months when I thought about taking a complete break fromtennis to clear my mind. In the end, I worked on it every day to improve. Iconquered it by always moving forward, and slowly I became myself again. WhatI'm most proud of is that, although I struggled, I never gave up. I always gavemy all.7 在我的职业生涯中，大多数时候，我都能很好地控制自己的情绪——但也有例外。几年前，我经历了一段非常艰难的心理时光。虽然我对身体上的痛苦早已适应，但在某些时刻，我无法控制自己的呼吸，也无法在场上发挥出最高水平。我现在毫不掩饰地承认这一点。毕竟，我们是人类，而非超级英雄。当你们看到在中心球场举起奖杯的那个人，与你想象中的并不完全相同。那个人也是普通人——疲惫不堪、如释重负、快乐幸福、感激运气——仅此而已。幸运的是，我没有陷入无法控制的焦虑，但每个球员都会遇到无法控制内心的时刻。当这种情况发生时，完全掌控比赛几乎是不可能的。曾有几个月，我曾考虑完全休息，清理思绪。最终，我每天都在努力，渐渐提升自己。通过不断前行，我慢慢找回了自己。我最骄傲的，是尽管曾经挣扎过，我从未放弃。我始终全力以赴。（挣扎与自我超越并行，控制情绪是一种技巧，但有时候，承认无法控制才是最勇敢的。）Tennis is also a teacher of life itself. Most ofthe time, you don't win the tournament you play in. No matter who you are, atthe end of many weeks, you've lost. Real life is the same. You learn to livewith moments of joy and moments of pain and try to treat them the same way. Ingood times, I never thought I was Superman, and in bad times, I never thought Iwas a failure. What makes you grow as a person is life itself: the failures,the nerves, the pain, the joy, the process of waking up every day and trying tobe a bit better to achieve your goals.大多数时候，你并不会赢得每一场比赛。无论你是谁，在漫长的几周后，你总会发现自己有时会失败。生活亦是如此。你学会与快乐与痛苦并存，尽量以相同的心态面对它们。在顺境中，我从未自视为超人；在逆境中，我也从未将自己视为失败者。真正让你成长的，不是每次的胜利，而是生活本身：那些失败、紧张、痛苦与喜悦，和每天清晨醒来后，重新努力成为更好的自己的过程。（生活就是失败和成功的交替，就像比赛一样，输与赢都是一种体验。坦然接受每一次跌倒，才是成长的真谛。没人是超人，生活本身教给我们的，只有“活着”的勇气。）In the end, when all is said and done, you get whatyou give. I hope my legacy is that I always tried to treat others with deeprespect. This was the golden rule of my parents. When I was a child, my fatheralways told me: "Inventing is hard, copying is much easier." He wasn'ttalking about tennis. He was talking about life. Look around you and observethe people you admire. How they treat others. What you like about them. Actlike them, and you will likely lead a happy life. I carried that lesson with meinto every match I played. I didn't feed off hatred towards my rivals, but offdeep respect and admiration. I just tried to wake up every morning and getbetter to keep up with them. It didn't always work! But I tried... I alwaystried.9 最后，当一切都结束时，你得到的，正是你所付出的。我希望我的遗产，是我一直努力以深深的敬意对待他人。这是我父母的黄金法则。小时候，父亲常常对我说：“发明是难的，抄袭却容易得多。”他说的不是网球，而是生活。看看你周围，观察那些你敬佩的人们。他们如何待人接物，你喜欢他们的什么？照着他们的样子去做，你大概会过上幸福的生活。这个教训，我带进了每一场比赛。我不是靠对对手的仇恨去激励自己，而是源自对他们的尊重和钦佩。我只是努力每天早晨醒来，变得更好，去追赶他们。尽管有时并不成功！但我尽力了……我一直尽力。（尊重与钦佩，远比仇恨和竞争更能激发内心的动力。尽力去做，才是生活的真正意义。）For over 30 years, I have given everything I couldto this game. In return, I have received joy and happiness. Joy and happiness,love and friendship, and much more...10 三十余年，我为这项运动倾注了所有的心血与精力。作为回报，我收获了快乐与幸福，爱与友谊，乃至更多。