MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal’s professional tennis career is over. His last match was a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Botic Van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in the Davis Cup.
That defeat, in combination with the loss of Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers in the doubles 7-6(4), 7-6(3) to Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp, ensured that Spain was eliminated from the Davis Cup. That spelled the end for Nadal, one of the sport’s most successful players of all time, who confirmed in October that he would retire at the event.
Nadal had flashes of his old self in the loss to Van de Zandschulp, but they were all too brief. A pair of aces at crucial moments. A broken backhand overhead. A running chase after a lob he recovered with a spinning overhead as he ran away from the net.
Ultimately, his game proved too meek to survive a powerful, modern player like Van de Zandschulp. Shots that would once have sent balls through the court ultimately came up short, allowing the Dutchman to take the initiative from Nadal’s racket.
With Nadal out, it was left to Carlos Alcaraz to save him and Spain. Alcaraz got to the halfway point and won his singles match, but then he and Granollers fell in straight sets to Van de Zandschulp and Koolhof while Nadal sat with his teammates on the right side and urged Granollers and Alcaraz on. He stood up and clenched his fists two at a time, trying to hold them and give him another chance on the field.
The match ended in two tiebreaks. Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp played their best tennis when it mattered most, with the weight of saving Nadal’s career weighing on the Spaniards for a few more days. The Dutch took the first tiebreak 7-4. In the second, Van de Zandschulp turned it on with a volley that hit the outside of the touchline and a blazing passing shot that sent the Dutch to victory. Koolhof, 35, is also retiring here. He wasn’t ready to go. He fell to his knees with joy.
Nadal stood up and crossed his arms. The end had come.
Rafael Nadal retires from tennis
Rafael Nadal won four Davis Cups with Spain. This one wasn’t supposed to be like this. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
When it was over, he tried to speak to the crowd in Spanish. The chants of “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” that followed him around the world drowned him out. Then they let their hero speak.
“I feel super lucky to have received so much,” he said.
“It was an incredible privilege, an honor that we enjoyed. We have achieved so many things,” he said, addressing members of the Spanish tennis team, past and present. Alcaraz looked dejected on the sidelines.
“Nobody ever wants to arrive at this point – I’m not tired of playing tennis yet,” Nadal said.
“My body has reached a place where it can no longer play. I feel privileged to have been able to extend my career longer than I expected. Thanks to life and my team,” he added.
Video tributes came in from legends and rivals: Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Conchita Martinez, Juan Martin del Potro. Spanish sporting royalty including Ballon d’Or holder Rodri, former Spain captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas and striker Raul, and golfer Sergio Garcia lent their voices. David Beckham addressed Nadal – in Spanish.
“I have tried to achieve my goals with respect, humility and appreciation for the good things I have experienced. I tried to be a good person and I hope you felt that. I am leaving the world of professional tennis and have found many friends,” said Nadal.
Later, Alcaraz performed his own tribute to X, also in Spanish. “Many more Davis Cups will follow. There is only one Rafa.
“Thanks to you I became a professional tennis player. It has been a blessing to experience your career, as a kid to whom you were an idol and then as a teammate! The best possible ambassador, leaving an everlasting legacy,” he wrote.
It is an end that has been in sight for two years, with Nadal struggling with his form and fitness since his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2022.
He retires with 22 Grand Slam titles, second only to Djokovic in men’s tennis history with 24. He also won two Olympic gold medals – one in singles and one in doubles – and four Davis Cups, with a total of 92 career singles titles.
Nadal, now 38, made his debut in professional tennis in 2001 at a Futures event, the third tier of the ATP tour. He started with Challengers (a level above but still below the main ATP Tour) towards the end of 2002, and made his main tour and Grand Slam debut the following year, reaching the third round of Wimbledon.
Two years later he won his first Grand Slam at the French Open, the first of fourteen titles at an event from which he retires with a record of 116 titles played, 112 wins and four losses. He won four French Opens in a row between 2005 and 2008, and after that fourth title won his first non-clay major a few weeks later, beating Roger Federer at Wimbledon in a 2000s classic.
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Nadal won his first Australian Open in January 2009, but that year he also suffered his first-ever defeat at Roland Garros, against Robin Soderling in the fourth round. He responded by winning a further five French Opens in a row between 2010 and 2014 and completing the career Grand Slam at the age of 24 by winning the 2010 US Open.
Injuries and a crisis of confidence forced him to endure two rough years in 2015 and 2016, but with new coach Carlos Moya in tow, he bounced back to win a 10th French Open and a third US Open in 2017. That “La Decima” title in Paris was the beginning of a new title. run of four consecutive Roland Garros titles, between 2017 and 2020, the last of which was a straight-sets assault on Djokovic, so often his bete noire.
In 2022, he moved ahead of Federer in the men’s Grand Slams rankings by winning a 21st and 22nd major at the Australian and French Opens, with that 14th title in Paris proving to be his last Grand Slam.
Although Nadal is best known for his ferocious and indomitable will to win, he was also one of the greatest shot makers in tennis history and perhaps the most complete baseliner the sport has ever seen alongside Djokovic, propelled by his ripped forehand with so much topspin that he kicked high. off the field and deceived opponents. His rivalry with Federer and Djokovic, who came to be known as the ‘Big Three’, produced some of the most memorable and high-quality matches in tennis history, with each pushing the other to greater heights and creating three of the greatest players in the world created. history of men’s tennis in development.
Two of them have now withdrawn.
(Top photo: Oscar J. Barroso/Getty Images)