Rafael Nadal is retiring from the tennis stage at the end of the year. The Spaniard has won almost everything there is to win.
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- Rafael Nadal is the next of the big three to retire from the world stage at the end of the year. After 22 Grand Slam titles, among others, the Spaniard is ending his magnificent career at the age of 38.
- The superstar, who has been repeatedly plagued by injuries, explains his retirement at the end of November and the Davis Cup final with Spain in a video. Behind Djokovic, the Spaniard is the second most successful player in history at Grand Slams.
- Here are Rafael Nadal's greatest milestones.
Nadal's 22 Grand Slam titles
- Australian Open: 2009, 2022 (2 titles)
- French Open: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 (14 titles)
- Wimbledon: 2008, 2010 (2 titles)
- US Open: 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019 (4 titles)
2002 - The first match win among the pros
On April 29, 2002, Rafael Nadal's star shone brightly for the first time at the age of 15 years, 10 months and 26 days. On his debut on the ATP Tour, he immediately celebrated a victory over the Paraguayan Ramon Delgado at the Mallorca Open. This victory marked the beginning of his extraordinary career.
2003 - His first Grand Slam appearance
An injury prevents Nadal from competing at the French Open, so he makes his Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon. At the age of 17, he becomes the youngest player since Boris Becker to reach the third round.
2004 - The first victory against Federer
On March 28, 2004, the then 17-year-old Nadal meets Roger Federer, the then world number 1, for the first time. And the number 34 from Spain immediately puts down a big marker at the Miami Masters, beating Federer 6:3, 6:3 in 69 minutes.
2004 - First tournament win
Five months after his triumph over Federer, Nadal wins his first title on the ATP Tour in Sopot. On August 15, 2004, he defeated the Argentine José Acasuso 6:3, 6:4 in the final.
2004 - The first Davis Cup triumph
In 2004, Nadal wins the Davis Cup with Spain for the first time. When he defeats Andy Roddick, he is the second youngest player after Boris Becker to win a singles match in a Davis Cup final at the age of 18 years and six months. Nadal went on to win the Davis Cup four more times (2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019).
2005 - The first Grand Slam title in his living room
In 2005, Nadal celebrates a sensational eleven tournament victories. His biggest coup came in Paris. On his French Open debut, he is immediately crowned the tournament winner. On the way to his first Grand Slam title, he eliminates Roger Federer in four sets in the semi-finals on his 19th birthday.
2006 - Defending his title at Roland Garros
Winning a Grand Slam title is worthy of all honors, but defending a title is an even greater feat. And that is exactly what Nadal does in 2006 at his second French Open appearance. He defeats Roger Federer in the final.
2007 - Federer puts the brakes on Nadal - but not in Paris
Between April 2005 and May 2007, Nadal wins 81 matches in a row on clay. It is the longest winning streak in tennis history on Nadal's favorite surface. It would take a Roger Federer to end this record streak in the final of the Masters in Hamburg. A short time later, Nadal managed to get revenge against Federer in Paris on the way to his third French Open triumph - in his third participation.
2008 - Epic victory in the Wimbledon final against Federer
In 2008, Nadal wins everything there is to win on clay. He outclassed Federer in the French Open final, winning 6:1, 6:3 and 6:0 in just 107 minutes. But the really big win was yet to come. In one of the best matches in tennis history, Nadal beats Federer 6:4, 6:4, 6:7, 6:7 and 9:7 in the final on his way to his first Wimbledon title.
2008 - Nadal wins Olympic gold
On August 17, 2008, Nadal secures the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing with a victory over Chile's Fernando González.
2008 - World number 1 for the first time
On August 18, 2008, Nadal rises to world number 1 for the first time in his career. Prior to this, Federer topped the world rankings for 237 weeks without interruption.
2009 - First Australian Open triumph
In February 2009, Nadal wins the Australian Open for the first time. He beats Federer in the final, against whom he leads 13:6 in the head-to-head at the time.
2010 - Nadal completes the career Golden Slam
In 2010, Nadal reaches the final of the US Open for the first time. There he prevails against Novak Djokovic in four sets. At the age of 24, the "Bull from Manacor" is the youngest player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slam titles. And because Nadal is also an Olympic champion, he is the first player after Andre Agassi to complete the career Golden Slam.
2013 - Record title in comeback year
On February 5, 2013, Nadal returned to the tennis court after a 222-day injury layoff, and twelve days later he claimed his first tournament victory at the Brasil Open. In June, Nadal then wins the French Open for the eighth time. In the final, he doesn't give David Ferrer the slightest chance and sets a record in his living room: No one had ever won eight Grand Slam titles at one tournament in the men's singles before.
2016 - Olympic gold in doubles
2015 marks the end of Nadal's record-breaking streak, having won at least one Grand Slam tournament per season for ten years in a row. Thwarted time and again by injuries, he was also unable to win any of the four major tournaments in 2016. After having to retire at Roland Garros and declaring a forfeit for Wimbledon, he makes his comeback at the Olympic Games. He comes fourth in the singles, but wins the gold medal in the doubles alongside Marc López.
2017 - "La Décima" and a return to the top
Nadal reaches another magical milestone with his tenth French Open triumph. He defeated Stan Wawrinka in three sets in the final and, as with his triumphs in 2008 and 2010, went the entire tournament without dropping a set. With "La Décima", he also made tennis history once again, as ten triumphs at a single Grand Slam tournament is unprecedented up to this point. He previously shared the record with Czechoslovakian-born Martina Navratilova, who triumphed nine times at Wimbledon between 1978 and 1990.
2019 - Number 1 for the fifth time at the end of the year
In 2019, Nadal wins both the French Open and the US Open, ending the year at the top of the world rankings for the fifth time in his career - and for the first time in eleven years.
2020 - Nadal wins his 20th Grand Slam title
In 2020, Nadal extends his record streak in Paris and wins the French Open for the 13th time. It is also his 20th Grand Slam title, bringing him level with record holder Roger Federer.
2020 - The 1000th victory on the tour
With his opening victory against Feliciano López at the Paris Masters, Nadal becomes only the fourth player in professional tennis to win his 1000th match on the tour.
2022 - Nadal leaves Federer behind
In 2022, Nadal wins his 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne after a thrilling five-set victory against Daniil Medvedev, leaving Roger Federer behind. At this point, Nadal is the sole record Grand Slam winner in singles. He also becomes only the fourth player after Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic to win all Grand Slam tournaments at least twice. Something Federer has not achieved - the maestro "only" triumphed once in Paris.
2022 - Nadal's last Grand Slam title
Later that year, the clay court king struck again in Paris. In the quarter-finals, he eliminated Novak Djokovic, whom he had lost to in the semi-finals the previous year. In the final, he then gave the Norwegian Casper Ruud no chance at all on his way to his 22nd Grand Slam title.
