Rafael Nadal, the Spanish prodigy who conquered Roland Garros at the age of 19 and went on to become one of the greatest champions in tennis history, has announced he will retire from the professional game at the Davis Cup finals in Malaga next month.
In an emotionally-charged video released on Thursday morning, the 38-year-old Spaniard said his injury-ravaged body would no longer allow him to compete without physical restrictions.
“I am retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said. “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.
“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life, everything has its beginning and an end, and 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.”
A pillar of what is widely regarded as the finest era men’s tennis ever witnessed, Nadal won 92 singles titles, including 22 majors, and held the world No 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks. His epic three-way rivalry with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer defined the sport for almost two decades, confounding the expectations of those who insisted his combative playing style and chronic knee problems would spell an early end to his career.
Nadal will be particularly remembered for his domination on clay, not least at the French Open, where his tally of 14 titles is unlikely to be surpassed. His record of 81 consecutive wins on red clay represents the longest single-surface streak in the open era, and he has also rewritten the record books at each of the three Masters 1000 events staged on the surface, winning 11 times in Monte Carlo, five at the Madrid Open and a further 10 in Rome. For good measure, Nadal also won a dozen times at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona.
Yet for all his extraordinary achievements at Roland Garros, where he was beaten just four times in 116 matches, earning the moniker “King of Clay”, the Spaniard was a master of all surfaces. In 2008, after finishing runner-up to Federer in each of the two previous years, Nadal defeated the Swiss in an epic final to fulfil his childhood dream of winning Wimbledon. That match, hailed by many as one of the greatest in history, came amid a run of five straight final appearances at the All England Club, where he claimed a second title against Tomas Berdych in 2010. In the same year, Nadal won the first of four US Open crowns, a reflection of the hard-court prowess that also earned him victories at the Australian Open in 2009 and 2022.
An Olympic gold medallist in singles at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and in doubles alongside his compatriot Marc López in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Nadal’s decision comes barely two months after Andy Murray, another of his great rivals, called time on his career at the summer Games in Paris, where Nadal was beaten by Djokovic in the second round. That defeat, which came just weeks after a first-round French Open loss to Alexander Zverev, marked the Spaniard’s last appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The final flourish of an extraordinary career came in the first half of 2022, when Nadal returned from a six-month injury layoff to win a second Australian Open and, despite battling a chronic foot injury, a 14th title at the French Open. He went on reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, from which he was forced to withdraw after suffering an abdominal tear during a gritty five-set win over Taylor Fritz. That injury marked the beginning of the end. Nadal has spent much of the past two and a half years battling physical issues, including a recurrence of the abdominal problem and a torn hip muscle on which he underwent surgery last summer.
Nadal, whose final appearance will come on home soil for Spain, who face the Netherlands in the last eight of the Davis Cup on 19 November, concluded his farewell announcement by thanking his legion of fans – but not before paying a moving tribute to his family.
“We have lived so much together that it is hard to explain,” said the Spaniard, his eyes reddened by emotion. “My family is everything to me.
“My mother, I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we would always have everything.
“My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years – thank you for everything you have done. I think you’ve been the perfect travel companion during all these years of my career. To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue.
“My sister, I think we have always had an incredible relationship. My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis. I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.
“And to my father, who I believe has been a source of inspiration for me in every sense of the word. I think he has been an example of effort, of overcoming. Many, many thanks to my father in a very, very special way.”
Tributes to the Spaniard were led by Federer, who ended his career on 20 grand slam titles, two behind Nadal and four short of Djokovic on the all-time list.
“What a career, Rafa,” the retired Swiss wrote on Instagram. “I always hoped this day would never come. Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour.”