For more than 20 years, Rafael Nadal has valued his reputation for authenticity.
Roger Federer was a tennis politician and a beacon of artless neutrality. Novak Djokovic was destined to undergo the difficult task of adapting to a sport that had come to be defined by the rivalry between Nadal and Federer, experimenting with a series of identities. He has only recently settled into his best self. So, as a tennis politician, he has a lot of fun and always tends to unleash the hostile tennis demons lurking within him.
Rafa just did Rafa. He was never afraid to be painfully honest about what was happening in front of him and around him. Sometimes he used his trademark words to punctuate sentences with, “This is my truth.” Sometimes it was one of his eyebrows arched along the curve of his forehand, or a wry smile that barely contained disbelief.
“Really, Amigo?” When Federer played until he was 41 and played his last round essentially on one knee, or when Andy Murray gamely tested his racket this spring and summer and put his spine to the test. He may have said that when he was trying to resist surgery. Nadal shared with them his hope that nothing more would be given to him, but his decision to retire at the age of 38 after the Davis Cup final in Malaga this November was due to the physical pressure of the past two years. Compared to the time when my anxiety stopped, it feels like it happened really quickly.
Nadal collected all the data he needed to conclude that time had passed in 16 matches over four months, all of which were played on red clay. There is no doubt that beating yourself was once the most difficult task in all sports. He went 10-6, including two painful, slightly lopsided losses to Alexander Zverev and Djokovic on Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros, his living room. . It was an unyielding mentality that, despite its ferocious bulls, had long been awe-inspiring by friends and foes alike.
The last matchup between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic signaled to him that it was time. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
“He’s the mentally strongest player I’ve ever seen,” his friend and compatriot Feliciano López said in an interview Thursday. “I’m not just talking about tennis, I’m talking about all sports. We’re talking,” he said.
He never questioned his spirituality. Nadal wanted to play without physical limitations. He couldn’t do that.
“This was obviously a difficult decision and took some time to make,” he said in his retirement video.
“Everything in this world has a beginning and an end. I think it’s the right time to end my career.”
How Rafael Nadal left tennis
It is true that this effort has been underway for about two years, ever since Nadal pulled up while chasing a forehand at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open in January 2023. He glared at the box mid-stride. His eyes were so wide that it looked like someone had stabbed him in the lower back.
In June of that year, he underwent surgery to repair two strained muscles and then embarked on a final comeback, suffering a further series of setbacks every time he began to feel that his game might still be within reach. endured. In the end, Nadal proved unable to fool himself into thinking he could compete with the world’s best players again.
Looking back, it probably didn’t take that long. In today’s top-level tennis, players need to be able to score a certain number of easy points on their serve. This was especially true for Nadal, who no longer had the speed or ability to chase the ball for four hours through five sets as he had for two decades.
He was no longer able to do the same damage with his serve, and even though he was able to turn his real weakness into something like a weapon, his shot always had a limit. He could no longer lift his body or push as hard as he once did, and was essentially hitting two second serves every time he went to the line. Even if he misses the hard-court tournaments and Wimbledon lawns, that’s still the case, which got me thinking about my last trip to the French capital, where there’s a statue of the boy from Mallorca.
Rafael Nadal was dealt a cruel hand in his final French Open match in a draw with Alexander Zverev. (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images)
He wasn’t going to care if he couldn’t go there with dreams of doing something important. If the previous game had been nothing more than a congratulations, he no longer needed an afternoon of praise or a farewell gift.
“I want to hold on to all my great memories,” he said at a press conference ahead of the 2024 French Open.
Hubert Harkatz, who humiliated Federer with a bagel at Wimbledon, also punched Nadal 10 days later at the Italian Open. Nadal was a big fan of the post-match celebrations, but didn’t say a word about his performance.
After the game, he said, “I did a terrible thing.”
Good health and a solid week of training for the French Open final match gave him hope, but the draw left Zverev in the best shape of his life. Nadal said he probably felt enough to improve from match to match, but the pairing didn’t allow it. Considering his place in the rankings and his health, this draw probably wouldn’t have helped him again.
The final data point came in the second round of the Olympics, against longtime foe Djokovic. In their 60th meeting, Djokovic won 6-1, 6-4 in a match that was not as close as the scoreline indicated.
even deeper
Games, sets, matches: Novak Djokovic sees off Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics
Like Harkas, Nadal took a calm and clear-eyed assessment of what happened that afternoon. He knew where his tennis was. Djokovic controlled the court all day, playing from every comfortable position, punishing Nadal’s serve and stealing his legs. Just as Nadal has done for so many people for so long on that red dust.
“He was much better than me,” Nadal said at the time.
He could have continued playing. In individual sports, no one can separate you from the team. Especially not in tennis, especially in tennis with Nadal, who would have been given a wild card entry if he requested it. He could have endured the kind of abuse he received from Hurkacz, Zverev and Djokovic the following year, while audiences around the world could have rejoiced in his suffering.
He didn’t need that. When he put it back together in the spring, he liked to be with all the great memories.
(Top photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
