Rafael Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, is leaving tennis

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis champions and the undisputed all-time clay court specialist, announced on Thursday that he would retire from the sport at the end of the season.

In an Instagram post, Nadal said he would leave after representing Spain, host of next month's Davis Cup finals.

“It's a difficult decision that took me some time to make, but in this life everything has a beginning and an end,” Nadal said in a video post. “I feel this is the right time to end a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles between 2005 and 2022, as well as an Olympic singles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games and doubles gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. A tireless competitor from Majorca with a powerful forehand , won two Australian Open titles, two All-England Wimbledon titles, four US Open victories and as many as 14 clay-court championship titles at the French Open.

Nadal's dominance in Paris is commemorated by his statue, which stands near the main entrance to the Roland Garros tournament grounds and in the shadow of the main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier.

Nadal's career record includes 92 tournament victories on the men's tour, including five on Canadian hard courts between 2005 and 2019.

Nadal, 38, thanked his wife Mery, extended family, coaches and trainers for all these years.

The experienced player mentioned the difficult two previous seasons, which were marked by injuries. He underwent hip surgery, missed the next four major tournaments and was eliminated in the first round of this year's French Open.

He continued to express frustration with questions about his future following this defeat.

“Every day I come here to answer whether this is my last match or not,” he told reporters. “I can't spend every day analyzing whether this could be my last match or not. What can I say? It's not easy to play in this situation.”

After Nadal retires, only Novak Djokovic will remain from the so-called Big Four in the men's league. Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray won all but two of the 40 Grand Slam championships played between 2004 and 2013.

Djokovic has won a record 24 men's Grand Slam tournaments, followed by Nadal and Switzerland's Federer with 20. There remains a huge gap to the next highest on the list, American Pete Sampras, who has 14 Grand Slam wins.

A nod to his “great rivals”

The Nadal-Federer rivalry in particular has been hailed as one of the greatest in sports history, with the players meeting 40 times, including 24 in tournament finals.

Nadal thanked “my great rivals” in his retirement announcement.

“I spent many hours with them and experienced many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life,” he said.

Nadal came from a sporting family and began playing tennis under the tutelage of his uncle, Toni Nadal.

“Toni didn't give up. There was no mercy,” Nadal wrote in his 2011 autobiography Reefwritten with John Carlin. “I look back at teenage Rafael and I am proud of him. He set a standard of endurance that has served as an example and a reminder to me… If you want something bad enough, no sacrifice is too great.”

Although Nadal's career was filled with extraordinary accolades and glory, he wrote in the same book that he was considering a career in professional golf after injuring his foot in 2005.

Nadal first participated in a professional tennis tournament at the age of 15. He struggled to communicate in English and worked just as hard off the court to finally learn the language.

On November 19, Spain will go on trial in Malaga against the Netherlands, where Canada will face Germany and begin the Davis Cup knockout stages. Nadal was involved in four of Spain's Davis Cup victories, including in 2019, when he defeated Canada in the final and was named the tournament's best player.

Nadal's overall Davis Cup singles record is 29-1.