Nadal’s Letter To Retiring Federer: ‘I Wish This Day Would Have Never Come’ | ATP Tour

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal created one of the most iconic rivalries in all of sports. Following Federer’s retirement announcement on Thursday, Nadal wrote a letter to his “friend and rival” on Twitter.

“I wish this day would have never come. It’s a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world. It’s been a pleasure but also an honour and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court,” Nadal wrote. “We will have many more moments to share together in the future, there are still lots of things to do together, we know that.

“For now, I truly wish you all the happiness with your wife, Mirka, your kids, your family and enjoy what’s ahead of you. I’ll see you in London at Laver Cup.”

Dear Roger,my friend and rival.
I wish this day would have never come. It’s a sad day for me personally and for sports around the world.
It’s been a pleasure but also an honor and privilege to share all these years with you, living so many amazing moments on and off the court 👇🏻

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 15, 2022

Federer and Nadal played each other 40 times in their ATP Head2Head series, with 24 of those matches coming in finals. All but four of their clashes came in the semi-finals or final of a tournament, or at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Read More: Federer & Nadal, The Rivalry

The pair first met on court in 2004 in the third round in Miami. Their most recent battle came in the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finals.

Both men will compete for Team Europe at next week’s Laver Cup, Federer’s final ATP event.