One of the greatest to ever do it in tennis history is done.
Tennis great Rafael Nadal is riding off to the proverbial sunset after Spain lost to the Netherlands, 2-1, in the Davis Cup quarterfinals held in Málaga.
Nadal had previously announced in a video on his official X account that he would retire at the end of the Davis Cup, citing “some difficult years” that have prevented him from playing “without limitations.”
“Hello everyone, I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations,” said Nadal in the video he posted on X. “It is obviously a difficult decision… but in this life, everything has a beginning and an end, and 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.”
No Fairy Tale Ending for Nadal and His Storybook Career
Nadal’s final match was a bit anti-climactic, with the Spaniard losing 6-4, 6-4 to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp to open Spain’s quarterfinal push.
Teammate and close friend Carlos Alcaraz extended the series with a 7-6, 6-3 victory over Tallon Griekspoor before teaming up with Marcel Granollers in a winner-take-all doubles match against Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp. The Spanish duo ultimately lost, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3), to their Dutch counterparts to bring the curtain down on one of the greatest careers in sports.
After the match, an emotional presentation was held in honor of Nadal, who also won two Olympic gold medals for his home country.
“The titles and numbers are there so people probably know that, but the way I would like to be remembered is being a good person from a small village in Mallorca where I had the luck to have my uncle as a tennis coach,” said Nadal in his speech during the tribute. “I had a great family who supported me in every moment. I was a kid who followed their dreams, worked as hard as possible to be where I am today. At the end of the day, a lot of people try their best every single day, but I’m very lucky to have the life I have to live because of tennis.”
Leaving with an Oversized Legacy
If this is, indeed, the end of the road for Nadal, he will leave behind quite the legacy as of the all-time greats of the sport.
Nadal will end his career having won 22 Grand Slams (including an unbelievable 14 in the French Open alone), 92 ATP-level championships, and 2 Olympic gold medals for Spain. He was ranked world no. 1 in men’s singles for a total of 209 weeks and is second all-time in career earnings with USD $134,946,100.
He will also be remembered for forming one-third of the famed Big Three of tennis alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Together, Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic dominated tennis in the 2000s.
