Rafael Nadal, one of all-time greats in tennis, has announced his retirement from the sport. In an emotional video posted on Thursday, the 22-time Grand Slam winner said goodbye to the sport that helped him become one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Nadal’s final match as a professional tennis player will be the Davis Cup final 8 for Spain in November. Nadal is still among the most accomplished athletes of all time. The Spaniard has won a record 14 French Open championships out of his 22 Grand Slam victories.
In addition, Nadal holds an Olympic gold medal and 92 ATP singles titles, including 36 Masters wins. Further, Nadal has the distinction of being one of just three men tennis players in history to accomplish the Career Golden Slam in singles.
“I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life everything has a beginning and an end,” he said in a video.
Last month, Nadal had withdrawn from the Laver Cup 2024, which was scheduled to be his final event on the court as a professional. Nadal announced that the Laver Cup will be his next competition in 2024, after the Olympics in Paris.
Berlin would have been Nadal’s fourth Laver Cup appearance, having competed in Prague in 2017, Geneva in 2019, and then, along with close friend and long-time competitor Roger Federer in doubles, for the last match of Federer’s career at The O2 in London in 2022.
Earlier, the 22-time Grand Slam Champion made an indication that 2024 may be his final year competing.
With a 12–7 match record this season, Nadal last participated in the Paris Olympics, losing to Novak Djokovic in the second round.
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