Rafael Nadal’s farewell ceremony was heavily criticized, notably by his uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal.
Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal, whose farewell ceremony was criticized, “had the ceremony he wanted”, judged Sunday in Malaga the president of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) David Haggerty.
«We felt it was important to listen to what Rafa wanted and how he wanted to be celebrated», assured the boss of the ITF, organizer of the final phase of the Davis Cup which ends on Sunday in the Andalusian city. “And that’s exactly what we did, we let ourselves be guided» by Nadal, argued David Haggerty.
After a final defeat against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the 23 years of professional career of “Rafa” were celebrated for around thirty minutes, with a speech of thanks from the champion and a video of tribute in which many stars (David Beckham, Serena Wiliams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic…) spoke.
But few big names in tennis or world sport were present at the Malaga Sports Palace to attend Nadal’s farewell, admittedly precipitated by the Netherlands’ surprise victory against Spain. A striking contrast with the farewell of his great rival Roger Federer in 2022 in London, where the elite of the men’s circuit were flocking. “I would have preferred something different, more in line with his incredible career», criticized on the radio Chain Being Toni Nadal, the uncle (and long-time coach) of the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, 2 Olympic medals and 4 Davis Cups.
On the radio Zero WaveCarlos Moya felt that Nadal deserved “much better than that“. For David Haggerty, “people can have whatever opinion they want. In (his) sense, the most important thing is that Rafa (had) the ceremony he wanted.” For tournament director Feliciano Lopez, “we should focus on the fact that Rafa chose the Davis Cup to say goodbye to, rather than continuing to debate this farewell ceremony. We did our best“, he defended himself on Sunday.
