The time has finally come for Rafael Nadal. The 38-year-old tennis great, who was the first man in history to win 22 Grand Slam trophies, announced Thursday his intention to retire at the end of the year. His final event will be the Davis Cup in November, where he will represent his native Spain.
Nadal announced his retirement in a heartfelt video message posted on social media. It was a little strange to see Rafa, usually so open with his emotions, calm and collected when talking about the end of his time in competitive tennis.
Thank you very much everyone
A big thank you to everyone
Thank you very much everyone
Thank you very much everyone
thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all
Thank you all pic.twitter.com/7yPRs7QrOi– Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 10, 2024
“Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I’m retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said in the video. “The reality is it’s been a tough few years, especially the last two. I don’t think I could have played without limits.
“It’s obviously a difficult decision, one that took me a long time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.
“And I think it’s an appropriate time to end a career that has been long and far more successful than I could have imagined.”
We have seen Nadal through it all. We met him when he was a lanky teenager, with boy band good looks. Today, 22 major trophies later, he is a 38-year-old man with a wife and child who is tired of fighting his body, especially over the last two years with recurring back and foot injuries. .
After turning professional at the age of 14 in 2001, Rafa burst onto the scene at the age of 18 in 2005, winning his first Grand Slam trophy on his French Open debut. Nearly 20 years of passionate, high-level tennis followed. Here’s a crazy stat: Over the course of his career, Nadal has played in 131 tournament finals, winning 92 and losing only 39. In Grand Slam finals, he has a record of 22-8. In 2010, he became the second man in history (and the youngest) to complete the career Golden Slam (winning all four majors and an Olympic gold medal) after finally winning a title at the U.S. Open.
While Nadal won trophies on all four surfaces, it was clear from a young age that he was very competent on clay. At one point, he had won 81 consecutive matches on clay, the most any tennis player has ever won on any surface in tennis history. He won 14 French Open championships and is so beloved by the French that a statue of Nadal was erected at the French Open years before he talked about it as a career.
In some ways, Nadal’s retirement feels like the beating heart of the men’s tour has been removed. His joy for tennis and his gratitude for everything he had was always felt on and off the court. Years in the spotlight as one of the most talented and competitive athletes on the planet can toughen some people, but that hasn’t changed Rafa. He was humble and kind, always offering a smile, a hand or a word.
Nadal was human and he didn’t mind letting us see it. There was no facade between him and the rest of the world. He never took on a character. He was always just himself. If the Big Four were a boy band, Nadal would be the one with the biggest soul. (Roger Federer would be the motivated and disciplined singer, Novak Djokovic would be the bad boy and Andy Roddick would be the funny one.)
Here’s an exchange sports journalist Jon Wertheim heard at the 2018 US Open.
Heard during the players’ meal:
First worker, waving to a friend: “He’s the guy who always says hello.”
Worker 2: “I love this guy. He always says, ‘Hey buddy, what’s up?’ He remembers me every year.”
Worker 1: “The nicest guy.” What’s his name again? »
Worker 2: “It’s Nadal.”– Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) August 28, 2018
No discussion of Nadal would be complete without a look at some of his highlights.
Davis Cup Final 2004. Spain v United States.
World number 2 Andy Roddick leads the American team.
In place of Juan Carlos Ferrero, who lacks confidence, captain Jordi Arrese pulls 18-year-old Rafael Nadal out of the hat.
The rest is history. pic.twitter.com/J4BNnwQKTx
– BastienFachan (@BastienFachan) October 10, 2024
Relive 10 of the greatest moments of Rafa Nadal’s career (although there are many more)
Just a relentless, physical man who made his opponents win every moment with him on the field.
The ultimate competitor
Thank you Rafa 🇪🇸👑
pic.twitter.com/4rufvsKfuF– The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 10, 2024
Here’s a look at Rafa (and his hair) over the years.
Rafa always had the best reactions when the last shot was made and he took the victory alone. But perhaps the best reaction will come later in his career, when he wins the 2022 Australian Open. No one expected him to reach the final, and at the start of the match it looked like Daniil Medvedev had Nadal’s number. Nadal had lost the first two sets and was on the brink of defeat when he dug deep and delivered one of the most brutal and unexpected performances of his career.
Nadal shocked Medvedev, winning the final three sets and claiming his first Australian Open trophy since 2009. His reaction is an absolute classic.
What’s next for Nadal? Only he knows it. The only thing we’re all sure of is that he’s earned everything else he wants.