Estrella del tenis español Rafael Nadal anuncia su retirada – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
2:40 PM – Thursday, October 10, 2024
Tennis will lose one of the best to touch the court, as Spain’s Rafael Nadal has announced that he will be retiring at the age of 38.
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Nadal will officially retire from professional tennis following the Davis Cup Finals in November, the 22-time Grand Slam champion revealed in a video posted to social media on Thursday.
“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially,” said Nadal. “I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. 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. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”
Towards the end of his career, Nadal had been hit with multiple injuries, citing it as one of the reasons for his retirement.
“It has been some difficult years, these last two especially,” he said over footage of him receiving physiotherapy. “I don’t think I’ve been able to play without limitations.”
Nadal, who was born in Mallorca, Spain, won two grand slams at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His generational career was built on sheer dominance of the French Open, where tennis fans saw him win 14 titles in 17 years, between 2005 and 2022.
He has won almost $135 million in prize money, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals governing body.
One of Nadal’s best accomplishments was his astounding record at Roland Garros with 112 wins and only four losses. He was so dominant in that specific tournament that in 2021, a statue depicting his trademark left forehand was erected.
However, Nadal is actually right-handed for other tasks, despite being known as tennis’ premier left-handed player.
“I’m a little bit strange in all of that,” he said in 2020. “I eat and play basketball with the right; I play tennis and football with the left.”
Nadal competed at the Paris 2024 Olympics over the past summer, losing to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the second round, he then withdrew from the U.S. Open and Laver Cup. He said at the time during the team-based tournament that “at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win.”
Nadal was able to push ahead of Roger Federer, another tennis great, for the then-record of 20 Grand Slam titles for a man, after winning the 2022 French and Australian opens.
“What a career, Rafa!” Swiss tennis star Federer wrote on Instagram. “I always hoped this day would never come.”
“Thank you for the unforgettable memories and all your incredible achievements in the game we love. It’s been an absolute honour!”
Nadal and Federer are known for giving tennis fans one of the greatest matches of all-time, when the two faced off at the 2008 Wimbledon Final. At the time, Federer was considered the greatest of all-time, as Nadal at the age of 22 was already established as one of the best on clay.
The match in London lasted five sets for almost five hours, finishing at 9 p.m. in near darkness to become the longest Wimbledon final on record at the time.
Nadal’s final match will take place in his home country in Malaga, Spain, where he will line up in the Davis Cup team alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup representing my country,” he said in his video. “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.”
Nadal gave a touching tribute to his family as well. He highlighted his wife of 19 years, Maria Perello, 36, and son, Rafael Nadal Jr., 2, whom he described as “a force that has really kept me alive.”
Finally, he thanked his fans throughout the globe. “I can’t thank you enough for what you made me feel,” he said. “You have given me the energy I have needed at every moment.”
“Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true.”
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