Rafael Nadal announces retirement from tennis

Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay, announced on social media that he plans to retire from tennis this fall.

Nadal is training for the "Six Kings Slam" pitting him against Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune. This exhibition will begin on October 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After that, he will join the Spanish Davis Cup team in the final eight Davis Cup action in Malaga, Spain on November 19.  Those will be his final professional tennis matches.

Nadal's career was legendary.  He won 14 French Open titles from 2005-22. The 38-year-old added two Australian Opens, two Wimbledon titles and four U.S. Opens to his unprecedented resume.

He is the 2008 Olympic gold medalist and former World No. 1. Nadal is part of the "Big Three" along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, a group that dominated tennis since the early 2000s.

Nadal's last Grand Slam wins were at the Australian Open and French Open in 2022.

His physical style of play, chasing down every ball and never being out of a point or match, lent itself to being injured at different times in his career, but he always came back and played better than ever. In the past 18 months, he has been riddled with debilitating hip and rib injuries.

Fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz idolized Nadal as a child growing up in the sport. The two shared the court playing doubles at this summer's Paris Olympics. Fans hope that "Nadalcaraz" will team up again in the Davis Cup in front of the home crowd.

Players and coaches reacted to the news.

Nick Kyrgios told Nadal not to retire because he wants to play him one last time. Katie Boulter said she is refusing his retirement application.

Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill penned this description of Nadal: "Possessed every quality in an athlete that you want for your own kids to try and emulate. Kindness, respect, hard-working, loyal, generous, belief and a willingness to fight for every single point. A role model. An inspiration to every generation and all-time legend."