Rafael Nadal's illustrious tennis career came to an end after Spain lost to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup quarterfinal singles on Tuesday.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner ended his career in professional tennis at the end of Spain’s participation in the tournament in Malaga after two injury-ravaged years. It had not been certain Nadal would feature in the singles but he was picked by Spain captain David Ferrer despite not playing a competitive match for over three months.
Nadal had won his last 29 Davis Cup singles matches out of 30 played — after debuting in the tournament in 2004 — and both of his prior clashes with the Dutchman. "I want to congratulate the Netherlands and thank the whole Spanish team that is here, who have let me play the Davis Cup again, which has not gone as we all wanted. I have given everything I had,” Nadal said after the match.
“The truth is that you never want to get to this point. I'm not tired of playing tennis but my body doesn't want to play anymore and you have to accept that. I feel super privileged, I've been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time,” he added.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner ended his career in professional tennis at the end of Spain’s participation in the tournament in Malaga after two injury-ravaged years. It had not been certain Nadal would feature in the singles but he was picked by Spain captain David Ferrer despite not playing a competitive match for over three months.
Nadal had won his last 29 Davis Cup singles matches out of 30 played — after debuting in the tournament in 2004 — and both of his prior clashes with the Dutchman. "I want to congratulate the Netherlands and thank the whole Spanish team that is here, who have let me play the Davis Cup again, which has not gone as we all wanted. I have given everything I had,” Nadal said after the match.
“The truth is that you never want to get to this point. I'm not tired of playing tennis but my body doesn't want to play anymore and you have to accept that. I feel super privileged, I've been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time,” he added.