Rafael Nadal Announces Retirement

Rafael Nadal, one of the all-time greats of men’s tennis, is hanging his racket for good. Through a video announcement posted to his social media, the Spanish player has announced his decision to retire from professional tennis. 

“Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal says. “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.”

He continues, “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. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

The 38-year-old has set next month’s Davis Cup Finals in home country Spain as his swan song. The 22-time Grand Slam winner says that one of his first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Seville in 2004, making the decision a full circle moment.With record-setting achievements in his two-decade career, Nadal is highly regarded as one of the most iconic players in tennis history. The Spaniard is a four-time US Open champion and two-time winners of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. His record at French Open is even more staggering: Nadal has conquered Roland Garros a record 14 times. The latter earns him the title as “King of Clay.” Having won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal also became only one of 13 players in history to ever achieve a Golden Slam.

See the tribute messages from Rafael’s fellow tennis players below.