Rafa Nadal announces his retirement at the end of the season

Rafael Nadal announced this Thursday that he will retire from tennis at the end of this season. After 23 years of career, the Spaniard will put an end to the most glorious career of Spanish tennis in the Davis Cup in Malaga, where he will aspire to add his sixth title.

In a video through his social networks, Nadal confirmed that he will not play beyond 2024 and that the Malaga Finals, in which he is called up with Carlos Alcaraz, will be his last professional tournament.

«The reality is that they have been difficult years, these last two especially, because I have not been able to play without limitations. It is a difficult decision, one that has taken me a while to make. In this life everything has a beginning and an end and I think it is the right time to put an end to it. “It has been a long career and much more successful than I could have imagined.”

«I am very excited that my last tournament is the Davis Cup final, representing my country. I think it is closing the circle, since one of my first great joys was the final in Seville in 2004. I am lucky for everything I have been able to experience.

Winner of 22 Grand Slams, at the time the most in history and now only surpassed by Novak Djokovic, Nadal is the best athlete in the history of Spain and is on the podium of the best in tennis ever.

Her 14 Roland Garros, between 2005 and 2022, represent a record that is difficult to match by anyone, since only Margaret Court, with ten Australian Opens, comes close to her in the same Grand Slam, but the Australian did it on horseback in the amateur era. and the open era.

Nadal has also won 36 Masters 1,000, the second most in history, for a total of 92 wins and 209 weeks at the top. He has won two Olympic gold medals, one in singles in Beijing 2008 and another in doubles with Marc López, in 2016.

His only thorn is not having won the Masters Cup, in which he reached the final in 2010 and 2013.

In the video, Nadal recalled his rivalries with Djokovic, with whom he played 60 matches (31-29 for the Serbian), and Federer, with whom he played 40 matches, with 24 wins and 16 losses for the Balearic, and also thanked his team supported him, Carlos Moyá, Francis Roig, Carlos Costa, Dr. Ángel Ruiz Cotorro and Marc López, as well as his family.

«I think my mother has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we could have everything. My wife, we have been together for 19 years, thank you for everything you have done. You have been my perfect travel companion. Coming home every day and seeing how my son is growing is a strength that has kept me with the necessary energy to continue. My sister, I think I have always had an incredible relationship. My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis. And to my father, who has been a source of inspiration in every way. “It has been an example of effort and improvement,” Nadal said.

Nadal’s last matches will come in the Davis Cup Finals that will be played in Malaga from November 19 to 24 of this year and where the Spaniard will form a team with Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreño and Marcel Granollers to try to give the seventh salad bowl to Spain. The one from Manacor has not yet announced whether he will play any previous tournaments beyond the “6 Kings Slam” exhibition that is played at the end of October in Saudi Arabia.