‘A difficult decision’: Rafael Nadal announces retirement from tennis at 38

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has announced he will retire from professional tennis at the end of the season after next month’s Davis Cup Finals.

Nadal has won 22 grand slam titles, placing him second on the men’s all-time list behind Novak Djokovic with 24. Fourteen of those came at Roland Garros, a tournament he has dominated unlike any player in the sport’s history, compiling an unprecedented 112-4 record. Nadal has won all four major titles multiple times and spent 209 weeks at No 1.

Two decades ago, Nadal emerged on the ATP Tour and quickly challenged Roger Federer’s dominance, establishing himself as one of the greatest teenagers tennis has seen. Their rivalry, underscored by contrasting playing styles and approaches, would reignite global interest in the sport and spark what many consider the golden era of men’s tennis.

They were joined at the top by Djokovic, who together with Nadal would push the game’s physicality to new limits with their many attritional battles. Their rivalry is now the most prolific men’s match-up in the Open era, with the pair facing each other 60 times, and Djokovic leading 31-29.

As Nadal established his clay-court dominance while steadily improving elsewhere, his playing style helped to transform the game. The vicious, heavy topspin he generates is unlike anything seen before. Alongside his paradigm-shifting forehand, supreme athleticism and intelligence, Nadal established himself as a player determined to constantly improve. He built a complete game, allowing him to topple Federer and finally win Wimbledon in 2008 after one of the great matches.

As well as his success, Nadal’s career was also defined by injury. His physical playing style and health issues, most notably Müller-Weiss Syndrome, the degenerative disease in his foot, have led to him being sidelined for significant periods. Those physical struggles make sustained success at Roland Garros more remarkable.

Despite his physical problems Nadal has enjoyed incredible longevity. His last two grand slam titles came at the Australian Open and French Open in 2022, one last remarkable comeback season. In recent times, however, injuries have caught up with him. Since the Covid hiatus in 2020, when Nadal’s chronic foot injury relapsed, he has struggled to stay fit and even more so since being forced to withdraw with an abdominal injury before the 2022 Wimbledon semi-final. Nadal’s physical issues culminated in last year’s hip surgery. As he prepared for that operation, Nadal warned that 2024 was likely to be his final year as a player.

When he returned to competition during the clay-court season in April, though, Nadal seemed hopeful of extending his career. He clearly enjoyed playing again, working each day with his team to fulfil their goals, battling in matches and travelling with his family.

In the end, Nadal’s body, and some brutal tournament draws, played a significant role in his decision. He had been hopeful of performing well at the French Open and the Olympics, held at Roland Garros. At the French Open, his hopes of gradually building his level were ended when he drew the eventual finalist, Alexander Zverev, in the first round. He then suffered a thigh injury days before the Olympics, where he lost in the second round to the eventual gold medallist, and his old rival, Djokovic.

Nadal has not competed since his doubles run alongside Carlos Alcaraz came to an end at Paris 2024 and his career now has only one official stop left. After a lucrative exhibition in Saudi Arabia alongside other top players, Nadal will end his career in front of his home crowd at the Davis Cup Finals, beginning on 19 November in Malaga.