In an attempt to cap off his career with a fifth Davis Cup victory in Malaga next month, the Spaniard has been added to the Spain squad alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
On Thursday, Rafael Nadal declared he would retire following the Davis Cup finals in November. This announcement marked the end of a career that yielded 22 Grand Slam victories, international acclaim, and the creation of legendary rivalries between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates his win over Australia’s Rinky Hijikata during their 2022 US Open Tennis tournament men’s singles first round match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, on August 30, 2022. (Photo by COREY SIPKIN / AFP)
My professional tennis career is coming to an end. In a social media video, Rafael Nadal stated, “The truth is that these past two years in particular have been quite challenging.“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, who has already established himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, is about to cap off his 20 years as a professional with 92 titles and $135 million in prize money alone.
Spain’s Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin during the third round of the 2024 ATP Tour Madrid Open tournament tennis match at Caja Magica in Madrid on April 29, 2024. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP)
Alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal has been added to the Spain squad as he looks to cap off his career in Malaga next month with a fifth Davis Cup victory.Nadal stated, “I think this is the right time to end a career that has been longer and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.””But I am thrilled to be playing for my country in the Davis Cup final, which will be my last tournament.”Nadal, who won the Davis Cup for the first time as a teenager in 2004, continued, “I think I have come full circle.”
Spain’s Rafael Nadal waves goodbye after he and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz lose to US’ Austin Krajicek and US’ Rajeev Ram in their men’s doubles quarter-final tennis match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, in Paris on July 31, 2024. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP)
In 2005, Nadal won his first major just a few days after turning 19 years old. A year later, in 2022, he won his last major, briefly holding the record for the oldest winner of the tournament until Djokovic overtook him. Nadal dominated the French Open, winning 14 of his majors there.In 116 matches, he only lost four times on Roland Garros’s renowned crushed brick surface.In addition, he won the US Open four times and the Australian Open twice, his first victory occurring in 2009 and his second thirteen years later.In 2008 and 2010, Nadal emerged victorious at Wimbledon despite the fact that grass seemed to be the surface that would most likely highlight any weaknesses in his game.
Many people consider his five-set victory over Roger Federer in the 2008 All England Club championship match—which concluded in nearly total darkness—to be the best Slam final ever played.
When Nadal won gold at the 2008 Olympics, he completed a career Grand Slam.He was the world number one at year-end five times, and from 2005 until March of last year, he never dropped out of the top 10.
Between 2004 and 2022, he won at least one title annually and held the top spot for a total of 209 weeks.He had a 24–16 advantage over his long-time rival and close friend Federer, who retired two years ago. In Australia in 2022, Nadal overtook Federer’s record of 20 major victories.He played 60 times against Djokovic, the all-time leader with 24 men’s Grand Slam victories, with the Serb only two ahead of him.Djokovic easily defeated an underpowered Rafael Nadal in straight sets during their final match at the Paris Olympics this year.
After losing to Alcaraz in the doubles quarterfinals a few days later, Rafael Nadal has not played.As a painful consequence of his all-action, brutal-hitting style, Rafael Nadal was prone to injuries even during his record-breaking career.
He missed 18 Grand Slam events and withdrew from the majors five times in the middle of the match due to issues with his ankle, wrist, knee, elbow, and abdomen.He acknowledged at the 2022 French Open that he needed daily injections of pain medication in his foot in order to mount a title defence.In order to continue playing, Nadal had to have nerves in his foot burned during a medical procedure.But the body was starting to creak more loudly.
Winner Roger Federer of Switzerland (L) and second-placed Rafael Nadal of Spain hold their trophies after the men’s singles final match at the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 15, 2017.Chandan KHANNA / AFP
He had advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals, but had to withdraw due to an abdominal strain.The next January, he suffered a hip injury at the Australian Open and lost in the second round, which was his earliest major tournament exit in seven years.Seeing her husband struggle to the very end, Mery broke down in tears.
When Nadal played alongside Roger Federer in the legendary Swiss player’s final tournament at the 2022 Laver Cup in London, he may have realised the writing was on the wall.Federer announced his retirement at age 41 after failing to recover from a knee injury.As the Federer era came to an end, the two men hugged and even cried together.”A significant portion of my life is departing as well when Roger leaves the tour,” Nadal declared.
