Rafael Nadal is almost finished. This is not surprising. He missed almost all of 2023 with a hip injury and has strongly hinted that 2024 could be his last year on the ATP Tour, with continued injury issues only playing sporadically thereafter. It’s a body. The question was not whether Nadal would actually retire, but when.
He announced Thursday via his Instagram account that he is retiring from professional tennis and that his last tournament will be the Davis Cup final in November. Nadal has always been motivated to play for his native Spain, and aside from retiring after the Olympics, Davis Cup makes the most sense.
Of course, the Spaniard’s retirement will only increase questions about Novak Djokovic. Of the big four, only the Serbs remain. He had a shaky season and failed to win a Grand Slam. He also seems to want to spend more time with his family. Could 2025 be his last year?
But Djokovic can be saved for another day. What are the five best moments of Nadal’s career? It’s hard to narrow down the list of players who have won 22 Grand Slams to just five. But this is our best guess.
French Open Champion (2005)
This is Nadal’s first major title of his career and, of course, his first French Open victory. Of course, it’s the first of 14 in Paris. He was also the first male teenager to win a Grand Slam in 15 years. The energy he had to expend in the semifinals en route to defeating Roger Federer to advance to the final may have been a notch lower in the final, but still.
Nadal defeated Mariano Puerta in four sets. Although he lost the first set in a tiebreak, he won the last three matches. Nadal would go on to win nine of the next 10 finals at Roland Garros.
Wimbledon Champion (2008)
Before Wimbledon in 2008, Nadal had only won the French Open, so he might have been thought of as a clay court specialist. Federer has also won the last five Wimbledon titles and looked nearly invincible on grass courts.
The match lasted four hours and 48 minutes, with the final three sets going to tiebreaks or overtime, with Nadal winning the fifth set 9-7. At the time, John McEnroe called it the greatest match of all time.
Olympic gold medal (2008)
Fitting for Nadal’s love of playing for Spain and calling the Laver Cup his last tournament, he won his only Olympic gold medal in straight sets at the Beijing Games. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and advanced to the final. After his victory, Nadal also became ATP No. 1 for the first time.
Next. Coco Gauff and Matt Daley seem like the perfect pairing. Coco Gauff and Matt Daley seem like the perfect pairing. dark
US Open Final (2010)
Proving once again that he has a versatile game, Nadal played one of his best tournaments ever in New York, not dropping a set until the final. There he defeated Djokovic in four sets. With this victory, Nadal became only the second man, other than Andre Agassi, to win the Golden Slam, which includes an Olympic gold medal in all four major tournaments.
French Open Title (2022)
It was Nadal’s last major victory, his 22nd Grand Slam title. At the time, he was two spots ahead of Federer and Djokovic in his major career. Of course Djokovic will pass him. Still, this was Nadal’s 14th victory at Roland Garros, a feat he is unlikely to match.
