Rafael Nadal will be leaving professional tennis right after the Davis Cup Finals, which will take place in Malaga in November. The 22-time Grand Slam champion made the world cry late yesterday morning when he announced that his legendary professional tennis career is coming to an end.
The signs that the Spanish withdrawal was very close were many and evident, certified by the poor results obtained in 2024. Rafas performance this year was too low and new injuries prevented him from playing in all the tournaments he would have liked. When he realized that his farewell tour was not going as he wanted, the former world number 1 did not exclude being able to continue playing in 2025, but then had to accept reality.
The body has sent very clear messages to the Spanish over the last two years and there would have been no point in insisting any further. The 14-time French Open champion was the strongest player ever on red clay and had the ability to improve his game on other surfaces as well, winning twice at the Wimbledon Championships, four times at the US Open and two times at the Australian Open.
Rafa will try to help Spain win the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga with his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will do everything possible to get ready for this event, where he will have the opportunity to greet fans from all over the world before starting his second life.
Guy Forget praises Rafa
The Spanish legend has received many messages in the last few hours, a further testimony of how much he has entered the hearts of people during his long and glorious career.
During an interview with LEquipe, French legend Guy Forget paid tribute to the Spaniard: We can say that Federer was technically the most accomplished, the most incredible when he played well. Djokovic is the best raiser, the player who misses the least, the hardest to counter, but for me, the strongestfrom a mental point of view is Nadal. On this plan, I place him above Roger and Novak.
When some other legends could show signs of annoyance and even give up in the course of a match, he never bowed his head or admitted defeat. To the last point. And even when you compare him to Jimmy Connors or Lleyton Hewitt, monsters of pugnacity, resilience, he was far above. It was probably his greatest strength, this ability, whatever his physical problem, the score, his opponent or the surface, to constantly say: I will find the solution and I will get out of it. I dont know where he got that strength.
Rafas legacy goes far beyond the triumphs he achieved on the tennis court and is an important example for players who wish to enter the professional tour. Nadal made modern tennis history together with his great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, not forgetting the impact of another great champion like Andy Murray.
An exceptional legacy
On his official X profile, Djokovic sent a message to his eternal rival: One post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport. You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis and I think thats probably the greatest achievement anyone can wish for. Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades.
Your legacy will live forever. Only you know what you had to endure to become an icon of tennis and sport in general. Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry that has impacted me the most as a player. Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable. I wish you the best possible farewell in Malaga with the Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career.
Nadal and Djokovic have created one of the most iconic rivalries in modern sport history and have improved on each other over the years. Their latest clash - without shocking surprises - is set to remain the one in the second round of the Paris Olympics, won by the Serbian in two sets.
In the last few hours, many players wanted to dedicate a thought to Rafa. The last one was Coco Gauff, who has always had a great admiration for the legend of Manacor. "He was or is my favorite person to watch playing. Sometimes we talk about retirements as if they were dead. Honestly, he is my favorite person to watch training. The intensity he put into training on the court and in matches is incomparable. I got a little emotional watching the video, because Rafa is everything I knew when I was little she said.
