Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career described by Agence France-Presse as having brought 22 Grand Slam titles, global respect and inspired epic, iconic rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Nadal, 38, ends his two decades as a professional with 92 titles and prize money alone of $135 million, his status long since secured as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
He said on social media that he thought it was “the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined”.
Nadal acknowledged: “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially.
“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life everything has a beginning and an end.”
He added that he was “very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country”.
“I think I’ve come full circle,” said Nadal, who won the Davis Cup for the first time as a teenager in 2004.
Nadal dominated the French Open where he won 14 of his majors, his first just days after his 19th birthday in 2005, his last in 2022 briefly making him the event’s oldest champion before the record was eclipsed by Djokovic a year later. He lost the French Open just four times in 116 matches.
He won the US Open four times; the Australian Open twice; and Wimbledon twice.
His five-set victory over Roger Federer in the 2008 championship match, which ended in almost complete darkness at the All England Club, is widely regarded as the greatest Slam final ever played.
Nadal claimed a career Golden Slam when he took Olympic Games gold in 2008.
He was a five-time year-end world number one and never left the top 10 between 2005 until March 2023.
Nadal was plagued by injuries, causing him to sit out 18 Grand Slam tournaments and withdraw mid-event at five majors.
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