‘It’s the Right Time’: 22-Time Grand Slam Champion Rafael Nadal Announces Retirement at Age 38

One of Tennis' greatest icons has called time in his professional career. Rafael Nadal, the multi-time Grand Slam Champion, has announced his retirement from professional competition. After Roger Federer, another one of the Tennis' Big Three has stepped down from competitive play, with only one person remaining in action. It is the end of an era as the Spaniard calls time in his illustrious career, which includes 22 Grand Slam wins and several other accolades.

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Rafael Nadal Retires From Competitive Action in Tennis, Steps Down as a 22-Time Grand Slam Champion

Spanish Tennis player Rafael Nadal publicly made his decision to retire in an emotional video message shared on the social media platform ‘X’ [Formerly Twitter]. The 22-time Grand Slam winner announced on Thursday that he will retire the day following the November Davis Cup finals in Malaga.

“Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.

“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But, in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined,” the legendary Spanish tennis player said.

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Earlier in September, Nadal had withdrew his participation from the Laver Cup in Berlin, which raised a lot of doubts over the star player's longevity in the game. Laver Cup is where the iconic tennis player Roger Federer retired in 2022. Nadal had also pulled out from the US Open last month, missing three of the four Grand Slam events in 2024.

As one of the finest performers on the red dirt, which earned him the title ‘King of Clay’, Nadal's dominance knows no bounds. He has dueled with some of the world's finest tennis athletes, with the latest outing being against Serbia's Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the iconic Roland Garros Stadium.