Tennis great Rafael Nadal will retire from the sport at the end of the year.
Nadal, 38, has enjoyed a career that has seen him win 22 Grand Slams, including 14 French Open titles. But he has been hampered by injuries in recent years, and he announced Thursday that this will be his final year playing the sport.
He will play for Spain against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup in Malaga from Nov. 19-21. That will be his final act on the tennis court, in a sport where he stood alongside Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray as four modern greats in the men’s game.
“I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said in a video statement posted to social media. “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that takes me some time to make.
“But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s an appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country. I think I’ve come full circle since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004. I feel super, super lucky for all the things I’ve been able to experience. I want to thank the entire tennis industry.”
Nadal went pro in 2001 and won the 2005 French Open in his first attempt. From there he established remarkable dominance on clay, winning 14 tournaments in 18 years at Roland Garros (2005-08, 20-14, 2017-20, 2022).
He also triumphed at the Australian Open (2009, ’22), Wimbledon (2008, ’10) and the US Open (2010, ’13, ’17, ’19).
His victory over Roger Federer on Centre Court at the All England Club in 2008 is widely regarded to be one of the finest matches the men’s sport has ever seen, with Nadal triumphing 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7. He also won Olympic gold in 2008 in men’s singles and 2016 in men’s doubles and spent 209 weeks as the world No….
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