Rafa Nadal retires: "It is the right time to put an end"

"My intention is that 2024 will be my last year," he said a few months ago. And so it has come to pass. Rafael Nadal confirmed that he is retiring from professional practice at 38 after a career marked by injuries but filled with titles, being part of one of the best generations in the history of tennis.

"Hello everyone. I'm here to tell you that I'm retiring from professional tennis," Nadal said in a video posted on his social networks, which he accompanied with images of the best moments of his career. "It's a decision that is obviously difficult, that has taken me time to make, but in this life everything has a beginning and an end and I think it's the right time to put an end to what has been a long and much more successful career than I could ever have imagined."

The best Spanish tennis player in history added that he will leave professional tennis after the final of the Davis Cup, a tournament in which he will represent Spain and which will be played in the Spanish city of Malaga in November.

A trajectory within reach of very few

"I feel very fortunate for all the things I've been able to experience." With that sentence, Nadal summarized his very successful career; a career that ends with a balance of 1,080 matches won and 227 lost and in which practically not one of the great titles he has fought to achieve is missing: 22 Grand Slams, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cups, two Laver Cups, 39 ATP Masters 1000 titles, 24 ATP Tour 500... A showcase that contains nothing more and nothing less than 92 titles.

But if there is a tournament in which the Spanish tennis player has excelled is Roland Garros. No one in the history of tennis, so far, has managed to climb to the top of the Parisian podium. And it seems unlikely that anyone will dethrone him. Nadal has disputed the final of Roland Garros 14 times and, in all 14, he has triumphed, earning the nickname of the king of clay.

His performance in the other three Grand Slams does not fall short either: two Wimbledon (2008 and 2010), four U.S. Opens (2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019) and two Australian Opens (2009 and 2022). In addition, he won gold in the men's singles draw at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he topped the podium in the men's doubles draw, along with his compatriot Marc Lopez.

With the Spanish national team, he won five Davis Cups, in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019, in which he defeated the United States; Argentina; Czech Republic; again, Argentina; and Canada, respectively.

Injuries hindered him from making his career even greater

If anything has served as an impediment to him extending his legendary career, it has been injuries, the main cause of having had to say goodbye to professional tennis.

"The reality is that it's been a difficult few years, these last two, especially. I think I have not been able to play without limitations," Nadal said in the video.

Injuries that have affected virtually every part of his body: knees, abdomen, shoulders, back, hips ...

Djokovic, the last of the 'Big Three'

In the last two decades, tennis lovers have seen three players fight for all the titles and dominate the professional circuit: Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. A Big Three that have left titanic fights on the courts, unimaginable points and one of the healthiest rivalries that the sport has given.

Nadal becomes the second of that Big Three to retire. The first was Federer, who announced his departure from professional tennis on September 15, 2022 after playing the Laver Cup. That tournament left an image that has remained imprinted in the minds of all fans: Nadal crying next to the Swiss tennis player after playing his last match.

After Nadal's retirement, only Djokovic remains. At 37, he is the male tennis player who has more Grand Slams: 24. With young rivals who are beginning to dominate the circuit - such as the Italian Jannik Sinner or the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz-, it seems complicated that the Serbian continues to extend his legend. Although he still remains in the top ten of the ATP ranking.