On the afternoon of October 10 (Vietnam time), legend Rafael Nadal announced that he will retire in 2024. The 38-year-old tennis player will represent Spain, playing the final matches at the Davis Cup Finals, taking place from November 19 to 24 in his home country.
In a video posted on his personal page, Nadal said: "I want to tell you that I will retire from professional tennis. The truth is that I have been going through a difficult time, especially in the last two years. I cannot play without being held back by injuries."
Rafael Nadal is the second most successful singles player in tennis history, behind only Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard is known as the "King of Clay", having won 14 French Open (Roland Garros) titles, winning 112 out of 116 matches at the tournament. No other player has won Roland Garros as many times as Rafael Nadal.
Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 at Roland Garros.
In addition, Nadal also won the US Open 4 times, the Australian Open and Wimbledon, each twice. Nadal is also a rare athlete to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles. At the team level, the tennis player born in 1986 won the Davis Cup 5 times with Spain, with the most recent one taking place in 2019.
While on the rise, a hip injury forced Nadal to miss almost the entire 2023 season. In early 2024, he announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open to completely treat the injury. However, when he returned at Roland Garros, he suffered a quick defeat to Alexander Zverev, exiting the tournament in the first round.
Since that defeat, Nadal has participated in two more tournaments, the ATP Bastad and the Olympics, but both were eliminated early. The 2024 Davis Cup, taking place from November 19-24, will be the last time fans will see Nadal play professional tennis.
"I think this is the right time to put an end to this career. I never thought I could play tennis for so long, and achieve the success I have today. I am very happy that Davis Cup is the last tournament of my career. It is a great honor to wear the Spanish national team jersey," Nadal said.
The 2024 Davis Cup Finals will feature 8 teams. The teams will compete in a knockout format. Italy are the current Davis Cup champions. They defeated Australia 2-0 to win the title.
Rafael Nadal and his teammates will play the opening match of the 2024 Davis Cup on November 19, against the Netherlands.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/rafael-nadal-giai-nghe-ar901168.html
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