Tennis legend Rafael Nadal to retire after next month's Davis Cup finals

Rafael Nadal announced Thursday helium volition discontinue from tennis astatine property 38 pursuing adjacent month's Davis Cup finals.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles during an unprecedented epoch helium shared with his rivals successful the alleged Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

"Really, everything I person experienced has been a imagination travel true," Nadal said successful an announcement connected societal media. "I permission with the implicit bid of caput of having fixed my best, of having made an effort successful each way"

The Spaniard indicated his determination was related to persistent wounded problems.

"The world is that it has been immoderate hard years, these past 2 especially. I don't deliberation I person been capable to play without limitations. It is evidently a hard decision, 1 that has taken maine immoderate clip to make. But successful this life, everything has a opening and an end," Nadal said.

Nadal's unrelenting, carnal benignant of play — each constituent pursued arsenic though it were his last, sprinting and sliding into spot for that high-bouncing bullwhip of a lefty forehand — made him 1 of the greats of the crippled and the unquestioned King of Clay, the slow, reddish aboveground connected which helium claimed his grounds 14 French Open championships.

That's much than anyone, antheral oregon woman, won astatine immoderate 1 of the sport's 4 large tournaments, a dominance celebrated by a statue of Nadal that stands adjacent the main entranceway to the grounds of Roland Garros and successful the shadiness of its main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier.

Nadal added Thursday that helium was excited to decorativeness his vocation astatine the Davis Cup, which volition beryllium played successful Malaga, Spain.

"I americium precise excited that my past tourney volition beryllium the last of the Davis Cup and representing my country," helium said. "I deliberation I've travel afloat ellipse since 1 of my archetypal large joys arsenic a nonrecreational tennis subordinate was the Davis Cup last successful Seville successful 2004."

Nadal has not played since the Paris Olympics, wherever helium mislaid to aged rival Djokovic successful the 2nd circular of the singles tourney and reached the quarterfinals of the men's doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.

"I deliberation it is the due clip to enactment an extremity to a vocation that has been agelong and overmuch much palmy than I could person ever imagined," helium said.