Rafael Nadal is enjoying the last moments of his incredible career. About a week ago, the former world number 1 announced that he will be leaving professional tennis in November after playing the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga with his Spain. The Spanish ace had long said 2024 would be his last year, but many fans hoped to see him in action in 2025 at least on the red clay tournaments. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had not wanted tributes in Rome or especially at the French Open, fueling speculation about his future on the ATP tour.
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The poor results obtained in 2024 and the continuous injuries have convinced Rafa to make this very painful decision. The 38-year-old Manacor has not played an official match since the Paris Olympics, but is practicing hard to get in the best possible conditions for the Davis Cup Finals in November.
The 14-time French Open champion will be fielded by captainDavid Ferrer in both singles and doubles, although his physical condition must be assessed before the event. Spain has a good chance of winning the event, especially if Carlos Alcaraz will show up at the event in top form. Spain is considered the great favorite to win along with Italy.
Rafa is having fun
The Spanish legend has arrived in Saudi Arabia, where it will be among the protagonists of the 'Six Kings Slam' this week. The 22-time Grand Slam champion - just like Novak Djokovic - will make his debut in the semi-finals against the winner of the match between Alcaraz and Rune (who will face each other today). During a practice session with Marc Lopez before the event, Rafa showed his football skills. The 14-time Grand Slam champion also plays football very well and his uncle Miguel Angel was a great player for Barcelona.
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During a long interview with DAZN, the Spaniard opened up on this exhibition: I've been without playing tennis for a long time, so I'm happy to be here to compete alongside a fantastic group of players, good friends. I'm looking forward to everything starting. I don't know what will happen; it's clear that all matches will be highly competitive because we are talking about the best players in the world. My expectations are not very high; I just want to be on the court, be part of the show, and have fans enjoy the entertainment.
He also talked about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner: They are doing really well; they are still very young but already achieving great things like winning Grand Slams or Masters 1000 tournaments. They already have some impressive records. Both Carlos and Jannik, especially these two, have very special qualities. They will surely help others to be even better. They have started their careers with some impressive stats; hopefully, they can stay clear of injuries and will have fantastic trajectories.Carlitos and Jannik are destined to do great things in the next few years, having already won a lot despite being still very young. Insiders believe they can take the place of the Big 3 in the hearts of fans around the world.
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A complicated ending
Back to Rafa, fans were hoping he would say goodbye to professional tennis with one last big hit. The French Open and the Paris Olympics were his greatest hopes in 2024, but the results have been below expectations. At Roland Garros he had to face immediately Alexander Zverev (who reached the final), while in the Olympic tournament he had a physical problem the day before the match against Djokovic.
Speaking in the latest edition of the show Radioestadio Noche, Carlos Moya commented on Nadals decision to retire: "I've known for days now that he told the team and me that the Davis Cup was going to be the last tournament he was going to play. Knowing him, we suspected that it was going to happen and that it was going to be there. I will now have a period of mourning at work because something breaks up with someone like Rafa who we have known since we were children.
Moya continued: "The last option a tennis player turns to is an operation because it is difficult for everything to go back to normal and that is what he did last year to try to be competitive again and reach the highest level. At Roland Garros we had a conversation and he asked me if I thought he should retire or hold back a bit. I told him not to say anything before, to have a good tournament, not to close himself off and he thought the same.
