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‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal (38, Spain) has officially announced his retirement.
On the 10th, Nadal announced in a video posted on his social networking service (SNS), “I am retiring from professional tennis.” Nadal announced that the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, a national tennis tournament to be held from the 19th to the 24th of next month, will be the stage for his retirement. Spain will play the quarterfinals on the 19th against the Netherlands.
“The last two years have been really difficult,” Nadal said. “It was definitely a difficult decision, and it took time to make it,” he said. “But everything in this world has a beginning and an end.”
Nadal, who ranks second in this category with 22 major singles wins, has not been able to stand on the court normally due to suffering from major and minor injuries over the past two years. Nadal, who announced in May last year that he would not participate in the French Open due to a hip injury, predicted his retirement, saying, “I don’t know how the situation will change, but 2024 will be my last year as a tennis player.” Nadal, born in 1986, prepared for a revival this year by resting the entire season, but had difficulty bringing his physical condition up to 100%.
Nadal participated in the French Open, which he has won 14 times, this year, but was eliminated in the first round. While not attending Wimbledon, he prepared for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nadal showed particular interest in the Olympics held at Roland Garros, where the French Open is held, and at the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour Nordia Open, which he participated in just before the tournament, he reached the tour finals for the first time in two years and one month and finished second, achieving his best result since his return. However, at the Paris Olympics, he lost to his old rival Novak Djokovic (Serbia) in the second round of the men’s singles. The doubles team was also eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Nadal did not participate in the next major tournament, the US Open, due to his physical condition, and his plan to participate in the Laver Cup was also canceled. Nadal, who had not officially announced the timing of his retirement, appears to have tried to show a comeback on the court, but he put down his racket without realizing his final dream.
“I am excited because it will be my last time representing my country, Spain, in the Davis Cup Finals,” Nadal said. “The first time I experienced great joy as a professional player was when I won the Davis Cup in 2004,” he said, adding, “It feels like I’ve come full circle.” Spain has won the Davis Cup six times, reaching the top five times (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019) while Nadal was playing.
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Nadal formed the ‘Big 3’ in men’s tennis with Roger Federer (Switzerland, retired) and Djokovic and maintained his position as the strongest player for nearly 20 years. The three players are ranked 1st to 3rd in terms of number of major championship wins (Djokovic 24 times, Federer 20 times).
Nadal also left numerous records in his career. There are many records that will be difficult to break in the future. In particular, their clay court performance is unrivaled. He holds the record for the most wins at the French Open, winning 14 times. It is also the record for the most wins in a single major tournament. Nadal has never lost in the finals, and his overall record at the French Open is 112 wins and 4 losses, with a winning rate of 96.6%. He has also won in a clean set four times (2008, 2010, 2017, 2020). Nadal recorded an incredible record of 63 wins and 8 losses in the final of the clay court tournament.
The 81-game winning streak between the Monte Carlo Masters in April 2005 and the Hamburg Masters in May 2007 is also considered a record that will be difficult to break. Nadal has added 13 titles in that time.
Nadal also became the first player to achieve double-digit wins in four competitions. He collected more than 10 championship trophies at the French Open, Barcelona Open (12 times), Monte Carlo Masters (11 times), and Italian Open (10 times). These competitions are all clay court competitions.
Nadal is also famous for being an icon of thorough self-management and consistency. This can also be seen in the fact that he has maintained the top 10 in the ATP rankings for nearly 18 years. He first entered the top 10 on April 25, 2005, and stayed in the top 10 for 912 weeks before being pushed out in March 2023.
Carlos Alcaras (Spain) and Jannik Sinner (Italy), who are currently attracting attention as the next generation players to lead men’s tennis, are receiving attention for their good results at a young age. But Nadal’s genius surpasses them. Nadal is the only player to win 10 tournaments in a season as a teenager. At the same time, he became the youngest player (24 years, 3 months, 10 days) to achieve the Career Grand Slam (winner of four major tournaments) and Career Golden Slam (Olympic singles gold medal in four major tournaments).
