A radial shaft seal includes a seal ring connected to a support ring and having a seal lip that extends radially inwardly. A tension spring urges the seal lip radially inward against a seal raceway during operation of the radial shaft seal. A retaining device retains the tension spring and is radially supported on a rigid inner circumferential wall that radially surrounds the tension spring. The retaining device may be configured to at least one of: (i) limit a widening of the diameter of tension spring caused by centrifugal force to a predetermined upper limit and (ii) prevent the tension spring from flying off during operation at high rotational speeds.