Rafael Nadal made his retirement announcement public on October 10, shocking tennis and sports fans.
He will hang his racket after the Davis Cup, scheduled for mid-November in Malaga, after representing Spain for the last time in almost 20 years of his professional career. Nadal, known for having 22 Grand Slam titles and for being one of the most successful tennis players of the decade, made this decision after several injuries put him out of the court and made this past two years more difficult, as he states in a video he published on his social media.
When Nadal made his professional debut in 2001, legends like Andy Murray, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic dominated the sport. But when he won his first Davis Cup in 2004 at 18, he started to gain the public's attention. It was not until 2005 that his career skyrocketed. He dominated in clay and grass, crowing himself with over ten titles and 79 match wins.
In 2008, he had one of his most successful seasons as a professional. Within a few months, he won the French Open and Wimbledon, breaking Federer’s streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles. He finally achieved what every young tennis player wishes, being No.1 in the World Ranking that the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) releases yearly.
After winning the Australian Open in 2009 against Roger Federer and Wimbledon again in 2010, he lost three finals against Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. Their rivalry will go down in history as they have played each other more than 60 times, yet they manage to stay good friends off the court.
During his announcement video, he stated: “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.” He also thanked his rivals, whom he’s spent many hours with and will never forget the memories they made together.
Nadal has been a role model for most young athletes, especially Spanish rising star Carlos Alcaraz, who had the opportunity to compete alongside him in the last Olympics in Paris. After the announcement, the 21-year-old player posted on his social media a thank you message: “From the kid who watched you on TV and dreamed about being a tennis player to the one who has the huge gift of playing by your side at Roland Garros representing Spain during the Olympic Games.”
Novak Djokovic was seen very emotional at the end of the final match at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. This was the last time they would face each other, and the Serbian athlete said that he had the utmost respect for Rafa. He even joked, saying that his retirement came too early and that he should stay a few more years.
His stats say everything. He is the only tennis player to have won at least one men’s singles Grand Slam title in 15 seasons. We will never see anything like that.
The tennis world will miss you, Rafa. Gracias.
