MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal’s professional tennis career is over. His last match was in the Davis Cup, where he lost 6-4, 6-4 to Botik van de Zandsjulph of the Netherlands.
With that loss, Spain was eliminated from the Davis Cup as Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp in the doubles match. With this, Nadal, one of the most successful players in the history of the sport, confirmed that he would retire from competition in October.
Nadal regained his old form during his loss to Van de Zandschulp, but it was all too short. Two aces at a crucial moment. Snap backhand overhead. While running away from the net, he races and chases down the lob that rotates above his head and returns.
In the end, his game turned out to be too meek to be a powerful and modern player like Van de Zandschulp. The strokes that once took the ball through the court became shorter, allowing the Dutchman to take the lead on Nadal’s racket.
With Nadal out, it was left to Carlos Alcaraz to save him and Spain. Alcaraz arrived in the middle and won the singles match, but he and Granollers fell to Van de Zandschulp and Koolhof in straight sets while Nadal sat courtside to his teammate, urging Granollers and Alcaraz on. He stood up and pumped both fists at a time, clenching them and trying to give them one more chance on the court.
The match ended in two tie-breaks. Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp played their best tennis when it mattered, saving Nadal’s career for a few days and putting the pressure on the Spaniard. The Netherlands took the first tiebreak 7-4. In the second game, Van de Zandschulp led the Netherlands to victory with a sharp volley from outside the sideline and a powerful passing shot. Koolhoff, 35, is also retiring here. He wasn’t ready to go. He fell to his knees with joy.
Nadal stood and crossed his arms. The end is near.
Rafael Nadal retires from tennis
Rafael Nadal is a four-time Davis Cup winner with Spain. This wasn’t it. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
After the event, he attempted to address the crowd in Spanish. The “Rapha, Rapha, Rapha” chant that followed him around the world got him hooked. Then they let their hero speak.
“I felt really lucky to have received so much,” he said.
“This has been an incredible privilege and honor we have had. We have achieved so much,” he said, addressing past and present players of the Spanish tennis team. Alcaraz looked completely down on the sideline.
“No one wants to arrive at this moment, I am never tired of playing tennis,” Nadal said.
“My body got to a place where I couldn’t play anymore. I feel honored to have been able to extend my career longer than I expected. “I’m grateful for life and my team,” he added.
Video tributes came from legends and rivals including Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Conchita Martinez and Juan Martin del Potro. Spanish sporting royalty spoke out, including Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, former Spain captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas, striker Raul and golfer Sergio Garcia. David Beckham addressed Nadal in Spanish.
“I have tried to achieve my goals with respect, humility and gratitude for the good things I have experienced. I’ve been trying to be a good person and I hope you’ve felt that too. I left professional tennis having made many friends,” Nadal said.
Later, Alcaraz also paid his own tribute to X in Spanish. “There will be more Davis Cups. There is only one Rafa.
“Thanks to you, I became a professional tennis player. It was a blessing to be able to pursue a career as an idol and teammate when I was young! “It is the best line that leaves a lasting legacy,” he wrote.
The end comes two years after Nadal has struggled for shape and fitness since winning his last Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open.
He retired with 22 Grand Slam titles. This is second only to Djokovic with 24 in men’s tennis history. He also won two Olympic gold medals (one singles and one doubles) and four Davis Cups, for a total of 92 career singles titles.
Nadal, now 38, made his professional tennis debut in 2001 at the Futures event, the third stage of the ATP Tour. He began playing the Challengers (a step up but still below the main ATP Tour) in late 2002, and made his Main Tour and Grand Slam debut the following year, reaching the third round of Wimbledon.
Two years later he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open, the first of 14 titles at the event, and retired with a record of 112 wins and 4 losses in 116 matches. He won four consecutive French Opens from 2005 to 2008, and a few weeks after that fourth title, he won his first major title off clay in the 2000s when he beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
deeper
What is it like playing Rafael Nadal on clay? I asked the players.
Nadal won his first title at the Australian Open in January 2009, but lost for the first time at Roland Garros that year to Robin Soderling in the fourth round. He won the French Open five times in a row from 2010 to 2014, and responded by achieving the ‘Career Grand Slam’ at the age of 24 at the 2010 US Open.
Injuries and a crisis of confidence forced him to endure two barren years in 2015 and 2016, but with new coach Carlos Moya, he rebounded to win his 10th French Open and 3rd US Open in 2017. The title “La Decima” in Paris was another beginning. From 2017 to 2020, he won four consecutive Roland Garros titles, the last of which was a back-to-back beating of Djokovic, often his veteran.
In 2022, he surpassed Federer on the men’s Grand Slam leaderboard with his 21st and 22nd major wins at the Australian Open and French Open, while his 14th title in Paris proved to be his last Grand Slam.
Although best known for his fierce and indomitable will to win, Nadal was also one of the greatest shotmakers in tennis history and, perhaps alongside Djokovic, the most complete baseliner the sport has ever seen. Fooled the opponent off the court. The rivalry with Federer and Djokovic, who became known as the ‘Big Three’, produced some of the most memorable, high-quality matches in tennis history, pushing each other to greater heights and creating three of the best players in the world. In the process, the history of men’s tennis.
Two of them now bowed.
(Top photo: Oscar J. Barroso / Getty Images)
