MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal's skilled tennis profession is over, his last match a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic Van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands on the Davis Cup.
This defeat, in addition to Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers' defeat in doubles 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) against Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp, resulted in Spain being eliminated from the Davis Cup. That ended Nadal, one in all the game's most successful players of all time, who confirmed his withdrawal from the event in October.
Nadal had glimpses of his old self in the course of the loss to Van de Zandschulp, but they were all too temporary. Just a few aces in crucial moments. A clever backhand over the pinnacle. A high-speed chase after a lob, which he returned with a spin over his head while fleeing the web.
Ultimately, his game proved to be too weak to face up to a robust, modern player like Van de Zandschulp. Shots that might have previously sent balls flying across the court ended short, allowing the Dutchman to take the initiative from Nadal's racket.
With Nadal out, it was left to Carlos Alcaraz to save lots of him and Spain. Alcaraz got halfway there and won his singles match, but then he and Granollers fell in straight sets to Van de Zandschulp and Koolhof while Nadal sat on the sidelines along with his teammates and continued to egg Granollers and Alcaraz on. He stood up and clenched two fists at the identical time, attempting to get them to carry on and provides him one other probability on the court.
The game ended with two tiebreaks. Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp played their best tennis when it mattered most, and the burden of saving Nadal's profession for a number of days fell on the Spaniards. The Dutch won the primary tiebreak 7:4. In the second half, Van de Zandschulp converted the ball with a sweeping volley that hit the surface of the touchline and a superb passing shot that gave the Dutch victory. Koolhof, 35, can be retiring here. He wasn't able to go. He fell to his knees in joy.
Nadal stood up and crossed his arms. The end had come.
Rafael Nadal retires from tennis
Rafael Nadal won 4 Davis Cups with Spain. This shouldn't be. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
When it was over, he tried to handle the gang in Spanish. The “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” chant that accompanied him all over the world drowned him out. Then they let their hero speak.
“I was very fortunate to have received so much,” he said.
“It was an incredible privilege, an honor that we enjoyed. We have achieved so much,” he said, addressing former and current members of the Spanish tennis team. Alcaraz looked dejected on the sidelines.
“Nobody ever wants to arrive at this moment – I’m not tired of playing tennis,” Nadal said.
“My body has reached a point where it can no longer play. I feel privileged to be able to extend my career longer than expected. Thank you to life and to my team,” he added.
Video tributes got here from legends and rivals: Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Conchita Martinez, Juan Martin del Potro. Royal Spanish athletes, including Ballon d'Or holder Rodri, former Spanish captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas and striker Raul, in addition to golfer Sergio Garcia, lent their voices. David Beckham addressed Nadal – in Spanish.
“I tried to achieve my goals with respect, humility and appreciation for the good things I experienced. I tried to be a good person and I hope you felt that. I am leaving the world of professional tennis after making many friends,” said Nadal.
Alcaraz later released his own tribute to X, also in Spanish. “There will be many more Davis Cups. There is only one Rafa.
“Thanks to you, I became a professional tennis player. It was a blessing to experience your career, as a child to whom you were an idol, and then as a teammate! The best possible ambassador, leaving an everlasting legacy,” he wrote.
It's an end that has been looming for 2 years as Nadal struggles for form and fitness since his last Grand Slam title on the 2022 French Open.
He retires with 22 Grand Slam titles, trailing only Djokovic with 24 in men's tennis history. He also won two Olympic gold medals – one in singles and one in doubles – and 4 Davis Cups, with a complete of 92 singles titles in his profession.
Nadal, now 38, made his skilled tennis debut in 2001 at a Futures event, the third round of the ATP Tour. He began playing on the Challengers (a step up but still a step below the important ATP Tour) towards the tip of 2002 after which made his important tour and Grand Slam debuts the next yr, reaching the third round of Wimbledon .
Two years later, he won his first Grand Slam on the French Open, the primary of 14 titles at an event from which he retired with a record of 116 matches, 112 wins and 4 losses. He won 4 French Opens in a row between 2005 and 2008, and after that fourth title, a number of weeks later he won his first major tournament away from clay, defeating Roger Federer at Wimbledon in a 2000s classic.
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Nadal won his first Australian Open in January 2009, but in addition suffered his first ever loss at Roland Garros that yr, against Robin Soderling within the fourth round. He responded by winning five more French Opens in a row between 2010 and 2014 and, at age 24, accomplished the “career Grand Slam” by winning the 2010 US Open.
Due to injuries and a crisis of confidence, he endured two barren years in 2015 and 2016, but with recent coach Carlos Moya in tow, he recovered and won the tenth French Open and third US Open in 2017. With the “La Decima” title in Paris a brand new one began. Between 2017 and 2020 he won 4 Roland Garros titles in a row, the last of which was a straight sets victory against Djokovic, who was so often his “bete noire”. .
In 2022, he passed Federer in the lads's Grand Slam rankings by winning the twenty first and twenty second majors on the Australian Open and French Open. The 14th title in Paris was his last Grand Slam.
Although Nadal is best known for his fierce and indomitable will to win, he was also one in all the best shotmakers in tennis history and, alongside Djokovic, perhaps essentially the most complete baseline player the game has ever seen, powered by his ripping forehand with a lot topspin that he high kicked off the sector and confused the opponents. His rivalries with Federer and Djokovic, who became often called the “Big Three,” led to a number of the most memorable and high-quality matches in tennis history, by which they pushed one another to even greater heights and produced three of the best players in history of men's tennis.
Two of them have since left.
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