Now 38, Nadal bid farewell to the sport he ruled for nearly two decades. His exit comes after Spain's defeat to the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday night
From full list of Nadal full list of grand slam titles to Nadal's farewell video, know everything about Spaniard's illustrious career here
The 38-year-old will be teaming up with young sensation Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers
Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 for the championship in the Six Kings Slam exhibition Saturday after Novak Djokovic topped Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-6 (5) in the third-place match. While Sinner and Alcaraz probably have plenty of future matchups in store, Djokovic and Nadal may have been playing for the final time in one of tennis' great rivalries. Djokovic won the match between rivals who have combined for 46 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal, who won 22 Slam titles, is planning to retire after playing for Spain next month in the Davis Cup. They shared a warm embrace at the net after Djokovic's victory. He also beat Nadal in the Olympics and had a 31-29 lead in their head-to-head. The last dance was an epic one, Djokovic wrote on social media. And of course emotional. I'll cherish our rivalry forever, (at)rafaelnadal. Tennis will miss you. Sinner then emerged with a victory over Alcaraz in a matchup between the winners of all four major titles this season. The top-ra
The winner of a staggering 22 Grand Slams will be making his final appearance at the Davis Cup in Malaga next month
Nadal's decision to retire comes full circle, as he made his Davis Cup debut for Spain back in 2004, in the early stages of a career that would later become one of the greatest in tennis history.
Nadal has been struggling with multiple injuries lately and has faced numerous delays and frustration in getting ready for tournaments.
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were named to Spain's roster for the Davis Cup Finals on Monday, raising the possibility of a renewal of their Nadalcaraz doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics. Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion who is 38, hasn't competed anywhere since the Paris Games, where he lost in the second round of singles to longtime rival Novak Djokovic and paired with Alcaraz to get to the quarterfinals of men's doubles before exiting against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. Nadal then withdrew from the U.S. Open and the Laver Cup while still dealing with health issues that have limited him to competing only sparingly over the past two seasons. Alcaraz earned the men's singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career total to four at the age of 21. Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup Finals, an eight-team event Nov. 19-24 in Malaga, Spain. The other opening matchups are: defen
Rafael Nadal withdrew Thursday from next week's Laver Cup in Berlin, leaving it unclear when the Spanish great will play again. The Laver Cup the tournament where Roger Federer retired in 2022 after teaming up with Nadal in doubles would have been Nadal's first event since the Paris Olympics and potentially one of his last ever. I'm really disappointed to share that I won't be able to compete at the Laver Cup in Berlin next week," the 38-year-old Nadal said. This is a team competition and to really support Team Europe, I need to do what's best for them and at this moment there are other players who can help the team deliver the win. The 22-time Grand Slam champion didn't address his current fitness after a spate of injuries in recent years, or when he might play again. Nadal withdrew last month from the U.S. Open, meaning he missed three of the four Grand Slam tournaments in 2024. He last played in reaching the men's doubles quarterfinals at the Olympics, where he also lost in th
The quartet of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, and Murray are popularly known as the Big Four of tennis.
Rafael Nadal told a Spanish television show that he doesn't think Jannik Sinner intended to use a banned substance and that the current No 1-ranked man didn't receive preferential treatment when he was cleared of doping after testing positive twice in March for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid. "I trust that he wasn't punished because those who judged this case determined quite clearly that there was nothing to punish. ... I don't believe the sentence has anything to do with him being No 1 in the world," 22-time major champion Nadal said in an interview with "El Hormiguero" on Monday. Sinner played Tommy Paul in the fourth round of the US Open on Monday night. The International Tennis Integrity Agency said on August 20 that it was determined the banned performance-enhancer entered Sinner's system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, and that is why the player was not suspended. Asked about the matter in New York before the US Open began, Novak Djokovic sa
Rafael Nadal pulled out of the US Open on Wednesday, making it the third Grand Slam tournament he's missed this season and raising more questions about his future in tennis at age 38. Nadal's announcement on social media was not much of a surprise. Yes, he was on the official entry list released last month for New York, but that was more of a formality than anything and did not preclude the 22-time major champion from withdrawing at any point before competition begins Aug. 26. Plus, Nadal telegraphed this news a week ago after his participation in the 2024 Olympics for Spain ended with a quarterfinal loss in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz. That followed a second-round loss in singles to rival Novak Djokovic, who left Paris with the men's gold medal. When he was asked then about playing at the U.S. Open, Nadal paused for a while before responding. Looks like not. But I'm going to let you know soon, he said. For me, now, I can't give you a clear answer. I need some time, but for me
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz are getting the hang of this doubles thing, improving to 2-0 as a team at the Paris Olympics and moving into the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-7 (2), 10-2 match tiebreaker victory over Tallon Griekspoor and Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands on Tuesday. Playing a day after Nadal's singles loss to rival Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz's win against Griekspoor, the old-and-young Spanish duo, wearing polo shirts in slightly different shades of red, didn't look like a pairing that never had played together until this event. As has been the case throughout tennis at this Summer Games, the attention was fully on the 38-year-old Nadal, owner of 22 Grand Slam titles and two gold medals, and the 21-year-old Alcaraz, whose major trophy total already is at four, including from the French Open last month and Wimbledon this month. Nadal whose wife and 1 1/2-year-old son, Rafael Jr., were in the stands and Alcaraz will face the fourth-seeded American team of Austin ...
Rafael Nadal made a last-minute decision to play singles at the Paris Olympics on Sunday and won his first-round match against Marton Fucsovics 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to set up a blockbuster showdown against rival Novak Djokovic. Nadal was greeted by a standing ovation from spectators, many of whom used cameras on their phones to capture the moment when he strode into Court Philippe Chatrier the same stadium where he has captured his record 14 French Open titles. There is a statue of Nadal outside the arena, and fans gathered around the steel structure Sunday morning, when it was still unclear whether he would be competing later. Not only did the 38-year-old Spaniard play, but for stretches, particularly in the early going and in crunch time down the stretch, he played very much like a version of himself everyone is used to seeing: the sprinting, sliding, grunting star who owns 22 Grand Slam trophies in all and won Olympic gold medals for Spain in singles in 2008 and doubles in 2016. And t
Rafael Nadal is not sure whether he will compete in singles at the Paris Olympics, saying after he paired with Carlos Alcaraz to win their first-round doubles match that he wants to make the smartest decision possible to have the best chances to bring (a) medal back home. Nadal's first match in singles, against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, is scheduled for Sunday. Tomorrow, I don't know what's going to happen, Nadal said Saturday. I don't know if I'm going to play or not. He said he wants to consult with his team before figuring out what to do. Nadal and Alcaraz Spain's old-and-new pairing of tennis superstars won the first match they've ever played together as a doubles team, eliminating Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6 (4), 6-4. Nadal called it amazing and an emotional moment. The 38-year-old Nadal has not made clear whether the Summer Games will be the last event of his storied career, although there's been plenty of speculation it will be, given all of his
Top-seeded Novak Djokovic could meet his longtime rival Rafael Nadal in the second round of the Paris Olympic tennis tournament. Djokovic was drawn Thursday against Australian Matthew Ebden and Nadal faces Hungary's Marton Fucsovics, with the winners of those matches meeting in Round 2. The 38-year-old Nadal won a record 14 of his 22 major trophies at the French Open. He won gold in singles at Beijing in 2008, and in doubles with Marc Lpez at Rio de Janeiro in 2016. French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz takes on Lebanese player Hady Habib. Top-ranked Iga Swiatek of Poland faces Irina-Camella Begu of Romania in the opening round of the women's draw with second-seeded American Coco Gauff taking on Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz had goosebumps walking onto Centre Court before his opening match at Wimbledon on Monday, a 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-2 win over qualifier Mark Lajal. Lajal proved to be something of a speedbump for Alcaraz, who acknowledged that his 269th-ranked Estonian opponent surprised me a little bit" on Day 1 at the All England Club. Alcaraz, who won his third major championship at the French Open three weeks ago, defeated Novak Djokovic in last year's final on the grass at Wimbledon but said he was still nervous before Monday's match. When I walk into the court, I got goosebumps. I remembered last year. It was a great feeling," the 21-year-old Spaniard said in his on-court interview. But I try not to think about it. It's a new year totally different tournament. I have to be focused on my game just to play at the same level as last year if I want to repeat the same (success) as last year." Earlier, Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka both pulled out of the tournam
Novak Djokovic will compete in the upcoming Paris Games, the Serbian Olympic Committee confirmed. Djokovic had knee surgery after withdrawing from the French Open ahead of the quarterfinals and said he hoped to return to competition as soon as possible. The Serbian committee said in its announcement that Djokovic had confirmed he will play in Paris. It will be his fifth Olympics. The 37-year-old Djokovic had said surgery on his right knee went well. The tennis events for the Paris Olympics start on July 27 at Roland Garros, the site of the French Open. It was unclear if Djokovic will be ready to play at Wimbledon, where he has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles. That grass-court major begins on July 1. Djokovic has only won a bronze medal at the Olympics. That came in his first games Beijing in 2008.
Nadal has appeared in 14 finals at the French Open and won each one of them, thereby having a 100 per cent record at the Roland Garros