When the end came, the Madrileños chanted his name, just as they have for more than two decades.
This time, though, the chorus was less a war cry than a mournful murmur: “Ra-fa, Ra-fa, Ra-fa.”
Minutes earlier, Rafael Nadal’s final match on Spanish soil had ended in a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to Jiri Lehecka, a muscular, square-jawed Czech 15 years his junior. Now, as the soft hum of the crowd subsided and his wife, Xisca, and sister, María Isabel, looked on through a veil of tears, Nadal stepped forward to address the crowd.
“This is a joke,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Next year, I am coming back.”
On a night rich with emotion, it was not the only moment that leavened the sadness of Nadal’s farewell to Madrid. Up in the rafters of the Estadio Manolo Santana, five banners were unfurled, one for each of the 37-year-old’s Madrid Open victories; to his evident amusement, the first and fifth temporarily got stuck halfway down. Not to worry: three titles would still be as many as anyone else has managed in the Spanish capital. And if Nadal needed a reminder of his other two wins, there was always the video montage that, he said, made him feel like his title triumphs, the last of which came in 2017, happened in another lifetime.
The reality, of course, is that he will almost certainly not be back. The injuries that have plagued him throughout his career, of which the abdominal and hip issues that have hampered him for the better part of two years are merely the latest manifestation, have left an indelible mark. Lehecka is the first player ranked outside the top 20 to defeat Nadal on a clay court since Pablo Cuevas, who accomplished the feat at the 2016 Rio Open. Nadal nonetheless leaves Madrid with a suitcase of memories and the knowledge that, with four straight matches under his belt for the first time since the 2022 US Open, his form and fitness are improving.
There is more to come, most immediately at next week’s Italian Open, the next stop on a road that, if Nadal feels he can be competitive, will lead to Roland Garros, where he has won 14 of his 22 grand slam titles. Beyond that lie the Paris Olympics, where he is expected to partner Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles, and September’s Laver Cup in Berlin. For now, though, a chapter has closed.
“This is a difficult day when it arrives, but it’s a reality,” Nadal told the crowd. “My body and my life had been sending me signs for some time. I was able to say goodbye playing on this court, one of the most emotional ones for me. Madrid at times has been more important to me than a grand slam. The memories here will stay with me forever.
“I have been lucky to have been able to turn a hobby into a job and do it well. I feel very lucky. I can’t ask for anything more.
“I can only thank everyone who has helped me in my career at some point. It’s not over yet, but here it is. It’s a gift that you have given for 21 years.
“I hope I have been able to be a good example for the new generations. That is more important than the titles. I hope I have generated positive emotions. The only thing I can say is thank you. I can’t say anything else; what I feel is this.”
Lehecka joked beforehand that, as the higher-ranked player, he would naturally go into the match as favourite. Yet many a true word is spoken in jest and, as he whistled through his opening three service games for the loss of just three points, landing hammer blows with his forehand and averaging 138mph on his first serve, the scale of the challenge facing Nadal quickly became clear.
The Spaniard nonetheless held firm, showing no evidence of any physical hangover from his three-hour duel with Pedro Cachin barely 24 hours earlier, and in the eighth game a double fault from Lehecka gifted him the first break point of the contest. The Czech appeared to greet that as a wake-up call, smoking one of 13 forehand winners on the night, and in short space he embarked on a run of five straight games – and 14 consecutive points – to move ahead by a set and a break.
Nadal remained characteristically defiant, fending off three break points to avoid falling a double break behind, and he would remain in touch to the last. At 5-4, Lehecka walked out to serve for the biggest win of his career and was met by a wall of sound. As the crowd rose to acclaim their hero, the clamour was deafening, chants of “Si, se puede!” – “Yes, we can!” – raining down from the stands. The Czech faltered for the first time, looping a forehand long. But his assurance at the net, another hallmark of an excellent night’s work, soon carried him over the line. As Nadal strode forward to shake hands, emotion was writ large on the faces of his family.
“I tried not to look at them,” said Nadal, “because I don’t want them to cry for me, even if it’s an emotional day. It’s not my last match, I’m not retiring yet, just saying goodbye to a very special place for me.
“Things need to keep going for me. I don’t know when it’s going to be my last match, but I don’t want to become too emotional, because I want to try to keep going for a while and just try to keep focused on my path.
“It’s a night that’s going to stay in my heart forever, but at the same time I try to be strong enough to keep going, because it’s not yet enough.”