Rafael Nadal Finally Announced When He Will Retire

Rafael Nadal Finally Announced When He Will RetirePhoto byBARCEX/ Public Domain

He’s been a formidable presence in the tennis universe for over 20 years. However, he has been throwing out hints about leaving the sport for over a year. Yesterday Rafael Nadal finally announced when he will retire from his beloved sport. He posted a video on x.com sharing the news about his decision. His last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup representing his country of Spain. The Davis Cup has reached the Final 8 knockout stage tournament, taking place from November 19th to 24th.

He wraps up a very successful career which started as a teenager in 2001. He has been ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won four Davis Cup Finals, two Olympic gold medals and 22 Grand Slam titles. It’s appropriate for Nadal to end his career at the Davis Cup. After losing his first ever singles match there he has since gone undefeated for 20 years there. He has an extraordinary record of 37 wins and five losses (29-1 in singles and 8-4 in doubles). He can add to that record if he wins next month.

The 38 year-old Nadal has been plagued throughout his career with knee injuries which were long-lasting and chronic. In 2021, Nadal announced that he had a rare chronic disorder of his left ankle, Mueller-Weiss syndrome. He held off surgery as long as he could but had it done in 2021. Nadal returned to tennis in early 2022 and won both the Australian Opens. He later received two numbing injections and anti-inflammatories before each of his seven matches en route to winning the 2022 French Open. Nadal stated that he was not willing to do that again.

Rafael Nadal Finally Announced When He Will Retire

Novak Djokovic posted his thoughts on social media:

Rafa, one post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport. You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis and I think that’s probably greatest achievement anyone can wish for. Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades. Your legacy will live forever. Only you know what you had to endure to become icon of tennis and sport in general. Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry that has impacted me the most as a player. Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable. I wish you best possible farewell in Malaga with Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career.”

Well said.

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