Tennis legend Rafael Nadal played the final match of his professional career Tuesday, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup.
Nadal, 38, announced last month that he would retire after the tournament.
His career ends as one of the most decorated in tennis. Competing professionally since his late teens, Nadal won 92 singles titles (fifth-most all time), 22 majors (second-most all time) and two Olympic gold medals.
Most famous for his dominance on clay, Nadal won a record 14 French Open championships. He won his first in 2005, beginning a dominant run in which he won nine of 10 French Open finals. After having dealt with injuries, he won four straight from 2017 to 2020 before he won his last French Open and major tournament in 2022.
Nadal, a left-handed player, for much of his career was a natural foil to Roger Federer, who had won seven major titles before Nadal won his first French Open. (Federer is third behind Nadal with 20 Grand Slam titles.) The two titans played each other 40 times from 2004 to 2019, including 24 times in tournament finals. Nadal led the rivalry with a 24-16 record — including a perfect 6-0 at Roland-Garros.
“Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me — a lot. More than I managed to beat you,” Federer, who developed a friendship with Nadal despite their professional rivalry, wrote in a statement on social media. “You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game — even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.”
He also added: “Rafa, I know you’re focused on the last stretch of your epic career. We will talk when it’s done. I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.”
Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic (the leader in Grand Slam titles with 24) dominated much of the last two decades of professional tennis. Nadal faced Djokovic 60 times, holding a 5-4 edge in major finals. Djokovic leads the rivalry overall with a 31-29 record.
Injuries affected Nadal, known for his athletic style of play, later in his career. He dealt with wrist, knee, hip, abdomen and foot injuries beginning in 2012. His last season with multiple Grand Slam titles was in 2022, when he won the French and the Australian Opens.
But after he underwent hip surgery in June 2023, he did not qualify for three of the next four Grand Slams, and he was eliminated in the first round of his last French Open.
“The titles, numbers, they’re there. People probably know that,” Nadal said on the court after his final match. “The way I’d like to be remembered more is like a good person from a small village in Mallorca.”
