Legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal has retired from his professional career.

On Tuesday, November 19, the Spanish tennis team was defeated by the Netherlands in the battle for a spot in the semifinals of the Davis Cup, ending their further participation in the tournament.

Davis Cup 2024. Final Stage, Quarterfinals

Netherlands – Spain – 2:1

Botic van de Zandschulp – Rafael Nadal – 6:4, 6:4

Tallon Griekspoor – Carlos Alcaraz – 6:7, 3:6

Wesley Koolhof/Botic van de Zandschulp – Carlos Alcaraz/Marcel Granollers – 7:6, 7:6

With the exit of the Spaniards, the long-time leader of the team, Rafael Nadal, also announced his retirement. The 38-year-old tennis player had stated back in October that the Davis Cup would be his final tournament.

“Titles, numbers, of course, exist and people know them. But I would like to be remembered as a good person from a small town in Mallorca. I was a child chasing a dream, working hard to achieve what I have. Life has given me the opportunity to live incredible moments thanks to tennis,” Nadal said in his farewell speech.

It’s worth noting that Rafael is the fourth tennis player in history to win 22 Grand Slam tournaments (only Novak Djokovic and Margaret Court, both with 24, and Serena Williams with 23, have surpassed him). He is the only player in tennis history to have won 14 titles at Roland Garros.

Throughout his career, Nadal has won 92 trophies, including 63 on clay courts (with 1080 wins and 227 losses). Rafa finished the season as the world number one five times (2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019). His personal record for weeks spent at the top of the world ranking is 209.

Nadal is one of only two players to achieve a “Golden Slam” in their career. Additionally, he has gold from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After winning the title at the Australian Open in 2022, Nadal became the fourth player in history to complete a “career Grand Slam” twice.