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Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles during
an unprecedented era he shared with his rivals in the so-called
Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
“Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come
true," Nadal said in an announcement on social media. "I leave
with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of
having made an effort in every way”
The Spaniard indicated his decision was related to persistent
injury problems.
“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. 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 said.
Nadal’s unrelenting, physical style of play — every point
pursued as though it were his last, sprinting and sliding into
place for that high-bouncing bullwhip of a lefty forehand — made
him one of the greats of the game and the unquestioned King of
Clay, the slow, red surface on which he claimed his record 14
French Open championships.
That’s more than anyone, man or woman, won at any one of the
sport’s four major tournaments, a dominance celebrated by a
statue of Nadal that stands near the main entrance to the
grounds of Roland Garros and in the shadow of its main stadium,
Court Philippe Chatrier.
Nadal added Thursday that he was excited to finish his career at
the Davis Cup, which will be played in Malaga, Spain.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of
the Davis Cup and representing my country," he said. "I think
I’ve come full circle since one of my first great joys as a
professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Seville in
2004.”
Nadal has not played since the Paris Olympics, where he lost to
old rival Djokovic in the second round of the singles tournament
and reached the quarterfinals of the men’s doubles with Carlos
Alcaraz.
“I think it is the appropriate time to put an end to a career
that has been long and much more successful than I could have
ever imagined," he said.
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