Tears after Davis Cup exit Nadal's tennis career over: "Wants to be remembered as a good person"

Everyone knew that Rafael Nadal's career was over this week. But the early end comes abruptly.

Rafael Nadal has won practically everything in his impressive career. 22 Grand Slam titles, 14 French Open titles alone, gold at the Olympics. But when the end of his tennis life suddenly became clear in Malaga, he did not want to be measured by titles and trophies. "The way I want to be remembered is as a good person from a small village in Mallorca," said Nadal after the Spanish team's elimination from the Davis Cup Finals.

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With a clear two-set defeat against Botic van de Zandschulp, Nadal himself had initiated the surprising 2:1 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. As a cheering spectator in the stands, he finally saw his time as an active player come to an end with the defeat of the Spanish doubles team shortly after midnight through no fault of his own.

Even the organizers were surprised

An ending that the organizers were obviously not really prepared for that evening. It took a while before the farewell ceremony for one of the world's greatest athletes began. In a long speech, Nadal thanked his family and many companions. His wife Maria and his two-year-old son Rafael watched the words with emotion in the stands.

Nadal was able to suppress his tears for a long time during the initially surprisingly emotionless tribute. But when messages from old rivals such as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and Spanish football stars such as Andrés Iniesta and Raúl were shown on the video cube, the tears started to flow.

"A lot of people work hard. A lot of people try their best every single day. I was very lucky. I was a kid who pursued his dream and achieved more than I ever dreamed of," said Nadal and was cheered by his fans one last time.

Last drudgery is not rewarded

In recent weeks, the 38-year-old had once again tried everything in his academy on Mallorca to get himself in shape for the final act of his career. But the physical exertions of a 22-year career simply could not be concealed in his last match.

Since his last Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2022, Nadal had only been able to play sporadically. He was repeatedly stopped by injuries. He played his last official match at the Olympic Games in Paris at the end of July against the Serb Novak Djokovic. A few more matches were to be added in Malaga. But nothing came of it.

dpa