By: Grace Wang
22-Grand Slam Champion, the King of Clay, and arguably one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the game, Rafael Nadal, has announced his retirement from professional tennis; his last event will be the Davis Cup Finals in late November where he will be representing Spain. The 38 year old’s last event was the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, but in the last two years, he has been hampered and plagued by injuries. Although fans already knew his retirement was approaching as he had previously hinted that 2024 would be his last season, this announcement created shock and surprise all over the world.
As one of the most beloved players on the tour and having one of the most decorated careers of all time, the responses to his retirement were fast, lengthy, and emotional. Novak Djokovic, one of the members of the Big Three (Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal) and arguably Nadal’s greatest rival as they have played 60 matches with Djokovic leading the H2H 31-29, responded by creating a lengthy Instagram post thanking the Spaniard for all of their matches and the lessons he had learned. Djokovic also stated that he would be flying to the Davis Cup Finals in Spain so he can pay tribute to Nadal’s extraordinary career. Meanwhile, young stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both congratulated Nadal for his career and thanked him for inspiring them.
In a 23 year long career, Nadal is truly one of the icons of the sport and has broken records that may never be broken again. Known for his fierce competitiveness and “die-hard” attitude, Nadal first broke into the scene when he defeated then World Number 1 Roger Federer in the 2004 Miami Open as an 18 year old. Following that win, he continued his ascent to the top of the game by winning titles including grand slams. Eventually, he became World Number 1 in 2008 and a few years later, became part of the tennis icon trio, The Big Three. Nadal’s career has been extraordinary; he has won 22 grand slams (including a record 14 French Open titles), an Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing, 92 career titles, and has been ranked the top man in the world for 209 weeks. His legacy will last long after his retirement; not only because of his career statistics but because he has inspired millions to pick up a racquet and play the game of tennis.
