Rafael Nadal officially retired from professional tennis on Tuesday, November 19, after Spain was eliminated by Netherlands on Day 1 of the Davis Cup Finals. The 22-time Grand Slam champion dreamed of finishing in style in Malaga, but nothing went in the right direction.
Captain David Ferrer’s choice to field Rafa in the first singles against Botic van de Zandschulp proved to be a failure, because the Spanish legend suffered from the long inactivity and began to play well when the situation was compromised.
Carlos Alcaraz’s subsequent victory in the second singles did not prevent elimination for Spain, who wanted to lift the trophy to give one last joy to his GOAT before retirement. Spain’s untimely elimination also affected Nadal’s farewell ceremony, which was very sad due to the absence of many of the key figures in his career.
Rafael Nadal© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
The former world number 1 avoided controversy, but almost everyone criticized the way in which the organizers paid homage to one of the greatest tennis players ever. The 14-time French Open champion immediately returned to Mallorca and seems eager to start a new chapter in his life.
His entire family was present in Malaga, including his son Rafa, while his uncle Toni was absent due to some mandatory commitments.
Rafa plays golf
Rafa is already enjoying life after retirement and is dedicating himself to his passions outside of tennis. On Saturday, November 23, the former Spanish champion participated in a golf tournament in Mallorca and achieved an excellent result. The former world No. 1 – who is also very skilled in the sport – was in first position at one point, but some errors in the last holes made him finish the event in eighth place out of 76 players.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion will have time to become even better at golf and try new experiences, which were impossible for him during his life on the professional tour. Rafa’s legacy will last forever, as will his incredible records on red clay. The Spaniard changed tennis on this surface, overtaking even a legend like Bjorn Borg.
In a recent interview with Eurosport, WTA legend Justine Henin talked about Nadal’s amazing numbers on clay: “Roland-Garros will survive Rafael Nadal, fortunately, but the mark will be eternal.
What he did, we can say that it will remain unique, even if some will have seen in his domination something that took away from the interest of the tournament, for the crowd.
But when someone takes control like he did, when someone seizes the keys, he does not want to share them.”
She also added: “It may seem strange, but I find a lot of myself in Rafael Nadal. We only have a very small piece of shared history at Roland Garros. He continued his journey in a completely different way, but we still have this little piece of history in common.
We never discussed it, but his gaze towards the members of his clan, his habits, his routine, his superstition, all that, it spoke to me a lot and I found a lot of myself in him, at that level. I felt that it was something we shared.”
Petkovic opens up on Nadal
Rafa’s last dance disappointed fans a bit, who hoped that he could achieve more prestigious results in the last year of his career. The former world No. 1 didn’t shine at the French Open either, where he had to face Sascha Zverev in the first round. The 14-time Roland Garros champion had another chance at the Paris Olympics, but suffered an injury the day before facing his eternal rival Novak Djokovic.
Rafa played that match, but was defeated in two sets on the court that made him famous all over the world. After the Olympic tournament he decided to quit, although he announced his decision to the world some time later.
Rafael Nadal & Carlos Alcaraz, Davis Cup Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
Recently, Andrea Petkovic explained how Nadal managed to take the love of fans over time: “Nowadays, people forget how much adversity Rafa faced from the crowd around the world. People loved Roger Federer and could not fathom a challenger as dangerous as this boy from Manacor whose whipped forehand opened the tennis court in ways thought geometrically impossible.
Rafael Nadal stuck with it. He did his thing, kept winning, kept beating Roger Federer, kept beating him with grace and humility in his heart.
And slowly, they began to like him, increasingly they warmed to him, in the end: they loved him. Passionately. For his decency and his broken English, for the random music video where he makes out with Shakira and his humor that started to shine through once his English improved.”