Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday.
The Spanish tennis icon plans to end a career that includes 22 Grand Slam titles after representing his country in the Davis Cup next month. The 38-year-old cited lingering injuries and the onset of age as the reason for his decision in an announcement video shared on social media.
“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,” Nadal said. “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.”
Nadal missed the majority of the 2023 season with a hip injury. He returned to professional tennis in December of last year and has hinted at a looming retirement throughout this season.
Shortly after his first match back, Nadal hedged about a possible retirement while preparing reporters for his decision to step away.
"The problem about saying it's going to be my last season is that I can't predict what's going on 100% in the future," Nadal said at the time. “I can't predict if my body will allow me to enjoy tennis as much as I enjoyed the past 20 years."
In his announcement Thursday, Nadal said it was an “appropriate time” to hang up his racket, calling his career “much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”
On that, there can be no argument. Nadal spent his career vying for the title of greatest men’s tennis player on Earth with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – collectively known as the “Big Three.” He has 92 career title wins, an Olympic gold medal and was the one-time holder of the record for most Grand Slam wins in history (since passed by Djokovic). Nadal is still the winningest player in the history of the French Open, having taken the prize in Paris a record 14 times.
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