Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly a living legend of the sport, and one of the most appreciated athletes globally. The Spanish champion has been a model not only for the victories he has won on the tennis court, but also for his innate ability to never give up even in the most complicated situations. Among the Big 3, Rafa was undoubtedly the player who had more injuries and who had to skip more Grand Slam tournaments. The former world number 1 never gave up and managed to have a longer career than anyone in the business could imagine.
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Over the past two years, his body has given clear signs of weakness and the 22-time Grand Slam champion has had to face reality. He would not have had without a legend of this caliber to continue to stress his body with the knowledge that he can no longer win the most important tournaments.
Nadals career will end at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month, an ideal setting for a thrilling tribute to a legendary athlete. It is still unclear what role Rafa will play for Spain: captain David Ferrer may decide to place him in singles or doubles alongside 4-time Grand Slam championCarlos Alcaraz.
A stunning career
The 38-year-old from Manacor retires from professional tennis without regrets and knowing that he has given his all on every single occasion. On his official Instagram profile, uncle Toni opened up on Rafas impressive attitude: For the last two years he simply continued to give himself every chance, more by faith than by reason, and finally he accepted the evidence only when he realized that his body was no longer able to cope with the situation. Today, I can say with certainty that Rafael has kept the promise he made to me a few years ago in a conversation we had in a section of a club. I told him that a well-known former tennis player had told me of his dissatisfaction with his career as a tennis player.
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With remarkable sincerity, he complained not about not winning more titles but about his lack of perseverance. Out of fear, I urged my nephew not to fall into this mistake and with more determination than I would have thought, Rafael replied: Dont worry, Toni, when I leave here it will be with the peace of mind that I have tried everything. When I leave here, I will have peace of mind having tried everything.
Fans dreamed that the 14-time French Open champion would perform one last big feat before he said goodbye to the ATP tour, but his current level is not enough to defeat the current top players. The Spaniard recently played the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia, where he was defeated quite clearly by both his compatriot Carlitos Alcaraz and his eternal rival Novak Djokovic.
Rafa can be proud
The last time we saw the best version of Rafa was in the early part of 2022, when he shocked the world by winning the Australian Open and the French Openagainst all odds. The 22-time Grand Slam champion can be truly satisfied with his career and will have a useful role in the tennis world even after his retirement.
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In a long interview with 'AS', the Spaniard confided that he is very proud of his journey: What I am most proud of is having finished my career and leaving tennis with the satisfaction of feeling valued and loved, not only by the crowd, who in the end may have a more passionate vision of what sport itself is, because what they see are your successes and there is a behavior before all that. The fact is that I have maintained a very good relationship with all the people who have been close to me always, both family and team, as well as the vast majority of people with whom at some point I have worked and lived more, both in tournaments and on the ATP tour.
I leave with the feeling that when I return to a tournament, they will be happy to see me. It is the satisfaction of having done things well, not only hitting the racket, but on a human level, which in the end is much more important. And the other thing that Im most satisfied with, the only thing that always mattered to me at the end, was finishing the tournaments and going home with the peace of mind that I had done my best. And, consequently, when I finished my career, have the peace of mind to say, because look, this is what has been, I gave everything, there was more.
