Rafael Nadal is preparing to retire from professional tennis, with his final event set for the Davis Cup finals starting Tuesday in front of a home crowd in Malaga.
The 38-year-old, who has been on tour for over 20 years, becomes the second member of the legendary Big Three to step away from the game, following Roger Federer’s retirement in 2022, while Novak Djokovic remains at the top of his game.
“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 after practicing Friday in Malaga. “And 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.”
It’s unclear when exactly Nadal’s last match will take place, as the Davis Cup is a team event and what is now called the “Final 8” begins at the quarterfinal stage.
Spain will face the Netherlands on Tuesday.
If they win, they would advance to the semifinals Friday against Canada or Germany, who play each other Wednesday.
The other quarterfinals are scheduled for Thursday: the United States vs. Australia, and defending champion Italy vs. Argentina.
The championship round will be Sunday.
Each matchup features two singles matches and one doubles match, with the first country to win twice progressing.
A wild card in all of this: No one knows for sure whether Nadal will be selected by Spain’s captain, David Ferrer, to play singles, doubles, both, or – theoretically, though unlikely – neither.
Nadal is joined on Spain’s roster by four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Martinez, and Marcel Granollers.
The biggest reason Nadal is ready to move on is a series of injuries, including a painful foot, abdominal muscle issues, and a hip problem that required surgery last season.
“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially,” Nadal said. “I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.”
Nadal has played sparingly the past two seasons due to injuries; he’s just 12-7 in 2024.
His most recent official competition came in early August at the Paris Olympics, where he lost to his longtime rival – and eventual gold medalist – Djokovic in the second round of singles and reached the doubles quarterfinals alongside Alcaraz before bowing out.
Nadal also played two exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia last month.
Nadal finishes with 22 Grand Slam singles titles, behind only Djokovic’s 24 among men in tennis history, and ahead of Federer’s 20.
The breakdown: 14 at the French Open, four at the U.S. Open, two at Wimbledon, and two at the Australian Open.
Nadal’s last major championship came in Paris in 2022, when he required nerve-numbing injections in his left foot.
Nadal has been part of Spain’s Davis Cup team during five title wins: in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2019.
The first title came after a teenage Nadal defeated then-No. 2-ranked Andy Roddick, helping Spain get past the U.S.
“I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country,” Nadal said. “I think I’ve come full circle, because one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Seville in 2004.”