Rafael Nadal's retirement puts an end to his legendary tennis career

We will never know the ways in which Rafael Nadal had to stretch, massage and manipulate his body, how many painkillers he had to take and how much torture he had to endure to achieve this Vamos Magic happens for so long.

He didn’t always like to talk about these details, especially in the heat of competition. With Nadal there were no excuses, no gray areas. Either you made it or you didn’t. Either you suffered or you failed. And no matter what the outcome, you were always grateful when you got the chance to try again.

But a few years ago, we got an idea of the lengths he was willing to go to just to squeeze a little more competitive strength out of his broken body.

After winning the 2022 French Open – the tournament that would be his 22nd and final Grand Slam title – Nadal revealed that his chronic left foot condition had worsened so much that he could only play with a series of Injections could play, which practically healed the foot and slept for two weeks.

Asked how many shots it took to get him up the court, Nadal deadpanned: “It’s better you don’t know.”

Nadal, 38, announced on Wednesday that his professional tennis career will end next month after playing again for Spain in the Davis Cup.

The choice of this event is deeply symbolic. In the 2004 Davis Cup final, when Nadal had only one minor ATP title on his resume, he beat No. 2 Andy Roddick to lead Spain over the Americans. As Roddick wrote on X on Wednesday, “I knew the tennis world was in big trouble.”

There was a lot of trouble – more than anyone could have imagined. He owned the clay court and won an incredible 14 Roland Garros titles. He adapted his game to finally conquer the grass and beat his great rival Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, which many experts consider to be the best match of all time. He thrived on the energy of New York and won four US Open titles. And in Australia, where he suffered so many close calls, heartache and injuries, his second title there in 2022 – from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev in the final – is considered one of the sport’s all-time marvels.

Not bad for a man who was diagnosed with Müller-Weiss syndrome – essentially an arthritic foot condition – in 2005. Not bad for a man with bad knees, back problems, hip problems and ribcage tears. Not bad for a guy who played such a grueling, physical, never-say-die style that his peers wondered if his body would last a decade in the sport.

Each time, Nadal continued to fight back, continued to push his limits and continued to win titles.

But at some point it was too much. While it’s sad to see a sports icon and all-time great player say goodbye, no one who has been paying attention over the last two years can feel bad about this decision.

If anything, it’s relief. You no longer have to suffer for this sport. He’s done enough.

Things haven’t been the same since the last French Open title. Nadal reached the Wimbledon semifinals a few weeks later, but was forced to retire after suffering a large abdominal tear in a five-set quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz. Unfortunately, every attempt to play after that seemed worse than the last.

Although Nadal repeatedly tried to come back and fend off retirement talks, there was little progress. Even at this year’s Olympics, where Nadal was desperate to win one last medal in Paris, he was barely competitive. The message his body was sending him was unmistakable. It was time.

Nadal’s exit from the sport means Novak Djokovic is the last of tennis’ Big Four. Federer has been gone for a few years now. The injury-plagued Murray had to say goodbye to the Olympic Games. And Djokovic, who is playing fewer and fewer tournaments and hasn’t won a major this year, is probably not too far behind.

It’s the end of an amazing era, but as Nadal said in his farewell video message, everything has a beginning and an end.

He did everything. He’s done enough. Sufficient.

Rafael Nadal’s retirement puts an end to his legendary tennis career

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