Rafael Nadal’s recent farewell has disappointed most fans and insiders. The ceremony for his retirement took place on Tuesday, November 19 in Malaga, after Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Netherlands at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
His farewell to professional tennis was quite sad, because many important figures were missing who were supposed to arrive in Malaga for Friday’s semifinal. Almost no one expected that Spain’s run in Malaga would end so soon and the organizers were so surprised that they were unable to put on a ceremony worthy of the Spanish legend.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had impeccable behavior both on and off the court, thanked everyone and never made controversy. The 14-time French Open champion was very sorry for losing his singles to Botic van de Zandschulp, but it was probably a mistake on the part of captain David Ferrer.
Rafael Nadal© ITF YouTube video
Rafa could not be competitive in this condition after three months of inactivity, on a very fast surface that never enhanced his game. The former Spanish champion was only supposed to play doubles together with ATP veteran Marcel Granollers (with whom he had practiced a lot in the days leading up to the tie).
The former world number 1 is convinced that he made the right decision to retire, being now 38 years old and having understood that he could no longer be competitive at the highest level. Over the past couple of years, Rafa’s athletic decline has been evident to everyone, and injuries have prevented him from playing as many tournaments as he would have liked (he only played 19 matches in 2024).
Rafa’s last dance
His last dance in 2024 was a bit sad, because the results were not brilliant and he suffered several defeats against second-tier players.
Rafael Nadal, Mallorca 2024© Stream screenshot
Recently, former Roger Federer and Pete Sampras’ coach Paul Annacone reflected on Nadal’s incredible humility: “Rafa’s only downside was also his biggest asset. His only downside was his humility and that’s also his biggest asset. There are times where I would look at him and wonder how he didn’t actually have a bigger ego. He was always so gracious and so humble about what he’s doing that sometimes that hindered his ability to step on a court and just crush the ball.”
He also added: “And when Rafa was vulnerable, he didn’t crush the ball and we saw that yesterday because he hasn’t played and it’s on his worst surface, his ball gets very spinny and it sits up. But because of that humility, he didn’t just walk on that court and star ripping balls everywhere.
He felt like every match he had to be at the top of his game, he was vulnerable and because of that he sometimes played a little bit tentatively until he got the match reps in and then when he did that, he played more aggressive. But again the biggest liability, if he even had one, his humility and if you swap that for how gracious that is and what an asset that is, I’ll take that balance.”
An outstanding career
The announcement of Rafa’s retirement was a shocking moment for all fans of the sport. Fans and insiders alike reminisced about the most memorable moments of his career and wondered what was the best year of his legendary career.
Someone has cited 2008 as his best season. That year, the Spaniard won his first Wimbledon title by defeating Roger Federer in the final and became world No. 1 for the first time in his career. Rafa closed 2008 with 82 wins and 11 defeats, winning 8 titles and winning 88% of the matches played.
According to others, 2010 was Nadal’s best year. In that season, the Spanish legend won three Grand Slam titles and suffered only ten losses in total.
His level was also impressive in 2013, in which he suffered only seven defeats to win two Major titles (French Open and US Open). Rafa has won 10 titles overall with a win rate of 91%.
Finally, the 2017 season can be mentioned. After suffering from injuries in previous years, Nadal returned to great form in 2017 by winning two Grand Slam titles and reaching the final at the Australian Open (lost to Federer in five sets).
2013 was the year in which the Spaniard won the most and was unstoppable in the second half of the season, even clinching his first and only title in Cincinnati during the summer. However, 2008 and 2010 were perhaps the most significant years of his entire career. In that time, Nadal became the best player in the world and overtook his great rival Federer in the ATP ranking.