Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced he will retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career which brought 22 Grand Slam titles, global respect and inspired epic, iconic rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
“I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially,” Nadal said in a video on social media.
“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.
But in this life everything has a beginning and an end.”
The 38-year-old Spaniard is set to end his two decades as a professional with 92 titles and prize money alone of $135 million, his status long since secured as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Nadal has been included alongside Carlos Alcaraz in the Spain team as he bids to sign off with a fifth Davis Cup triumph in Malaga next month.
“I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined,” Nadal said.
“But I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country.
“I think I’ve come full circle,” added Nadal, who won the Davis Cup for the first time as a teenager in 2004.
Nadal dominated the French Open where he won 14 of his majors, his first arriving just days after his 19th birthday in 2005, his last in 2022 briefly making him the event’s oldest champion before the record was eclipsed by Djokovic a year later.
On the famous crushed brick of Roland Garros, he lost just four times in 116 matches.
He was also a four-time champion at the US Open and a two-time winner at the Australian Open, his first triumph coming in 2009; his second 13 years later.
Nadal also won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010 even though grass seemed to be the surface most likely to expose any shortcomings in his game.
His five-set victory over Federer in the 2008 championship match, which ended in almost complete darkness at the All England Club, is widely regarded as the greatest Slam final ever played.
Nadal claimed a career Golden Slam when he took Olympic Games gold in 2008.
He was a five-time year-end world number one and never left the top 10 from 2005 until March last year.
In total, he spent 209 weeks in the top spot and between 2004 and 2022, winning at least one title every year.
In his long rivalry with close friend Federer, who retired two years ago, he enjoyed a 24-16 edge. Nadal surpassed Federer’s mark of 20 majors in Australia in 2022.
He and Djokovic, the all-time leader with 24 men’s Grand Slam titles, met 60 times with the Serb just ahead by two.
An underpowered Nadal was swept aside by Djokovic in straight sets in their final meeting at this year’s Paris Olympics.
Nadal has not played since losing in the doubles quarter-finals with Alcaraz a few days later.
Despite his record-breaking career, Nadal was plagued by injuries, a painful by-product of his all-action, brutal-hitting style.
Injury-plagued
Ankle, wrist, knee, elbow and abdominal problems caused him to sit out 18 Grand Slam tournaments and withdraw mid-event on five occasions at the majors.
At the 2022 French Open, he admitted that his title charge would have been impossible without daily pain-killing injections in his foot.
Nadal then underwent a medical procedure which required nerves in the foot to be burned to allow him to extend his career.
However, the creaks in the body were getting louder.
An abdominal strain forced him out of Wimbledon where he had made the semi-finals.
He was then struck down with a hip injury at the Australian Open the following January as he crashed out in the second round — his earliest exit at the majors in seven years.
His wife Mery was in tears as she watched him struggle through to the end.
Nadal possibly sensed the writing was on the wall at the 2022 Laver Cup in London when he played alongside Federer in the great Swiss star’s final tournament.
At 41, and unable to shake off a knee injury, Federer called it quits.
The two men wept and even grasped each other’s hands as the Federer era ended.
Federer lauds retiring Nadal’s ‘incredible achievements’
Federer paid tribute to Nadal.
“What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come,” 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer, who retired two years ago, said in a post on social media.
“Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour!”
When they met for the first time in March 2004 in Miami, Nadal was just 17 and ranked at 34.
Federer was the world number one and had already captured the Australian Open and Indian Wells titles that year.
Their rivalry spanned almost two decades and ended in an emotional London farewell at the Laver Cup in September 2022.
Nadal edged their head-to-head count 24-16, coming out 6-3 on top in Grand Slam finals, including his stunning Wimbledon triumph in 2008, widely regarded as one of the greatest finals at the majors.
“When Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving too,” admitted a tearful Nadal as he played Laver Cup doubles alongside 41-year-old Federer in the Swiss star’s final appearance in September 2022.
The two clasped hands as Federer hobbled into retirement.
“Very proud to be part of his career but even for me happier to finish our career as friends after everything we shared on court as rivals,” Nadal said.
When Nadal equalled Federer’s haul of 20 Grand Slam titles by lifting his 13th French Open in 2020, the Swiss described it as the “greatest achievement in sport”.
Federer never begrudged Nadal for moving past him to 22 majors.
“I can call up Rafa and talk about anything,” said Federer at his London farewell.
“We enjoy each other’s company. We have a million topics to cover. I always feel like any evening we ever spent together we never have enough time. “
Nadal retirement ‘tough news’ for tennis: World no 1 Sinner
Nadal’s announcement of a retirement date was “tough news for the tennis world”, world number one Jannik Sinner said today.
Nadal announced earlier that he will step back from tennis after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career which saw him win 22 Grand Slam titles.
“He’s an unbelievable person. He taught us young players how to behave on the court, how to handle situations on the court … Also to stay humble at the same time, not changing with his success,” said 23-year-old Sinner, speaking at the Shanghai Masters tournament.
“It’s tough news for the tennis world and not only (the tennis world).”
“Everything has a beginning … and also an ending,” said Sinner. “Only he knows how he feels. It’s a tough one.”
It has been suggested that Sinner’s rivalry with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz could be the new era version of Nadal’s “Big Three” competition with Federer and Djokovic.
“There are a lot of things we can take from them,” said Sinner of the three veterans. “We cannot compare us with them. That’s impossible, especially in this moment now.”
“I think we all were very lucky to see the Big Three playing tennis, and I consider myself very lucky to get to know them also as a person and to learn from them. “
