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Rafael Nadal’s retirement puts pressure on legendary tennis career

Vaseline October 11, 2024

We will never know in what ways Rafael Nadal had to stretch, massage and manipulate his body, how many pain medications he had to take and how much torture he had to endure to achieve victory. Vamos magic happens for so long.

He didn’t always like to talk about those details, especially in the heat of battle. With Nadal there were no excuses, no gray areas. You either did it, or you didn’t. You have suffered or you have failed. And no matter the outcome, you were always grateful when you got the chance to try again.

But a few years ago we got some idea of the lengths he was willing to go to to squeeze some more competitive juice out of his broken body.

After winning the 2022 French Open – the tournament that would be his 22nd and final Grand Slam title – Nadal revealed that his chronic left foot condition had become so bad that the only way he could play was through a series of injections that essentially damaged the foot got into trouble. sleep for two weeks.

When asked how many shots it took to get him on the court, Nadal replied with a straight face: “It’s better you don’t know.”

The 38-year-old Nadal announced on Thursday that the end of his professional tennis career will take place next month after he plays one more time for Spain in the Davis Cup.

The choice of this event is deeply symbolic. In the 2004 Davis Cup final, when Nadal had just one minor ATP title on his resume, he upset No. 2 Andy Roddick to lead Spain over the Americans. As Roddick wrote on X on Thursday, “I knew the tennis world was in big trouble.”

There were many problems – more than anyone could have imagined. He owned the clay and won no fewer than fourteen Roland Garros titles. He adapted his game to finally conquer grass and defeated his great rival Roger Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final, which many experts consider to be the greatest match ever. He thrived on New York’s energy and won four US Open titles. And in Australia, where he suffered so many close calls, heartbreak and injuries, his second title there in 2022 – after being two sets down against Daniil Medvedev in the final – ranks as one of the sport’s all-time wonders.

Not bad for a man who was diagnosed in 2005 with Muller-Weiss syndrome – essentially an arthritic foot condition. Not bad for a guy with bad knees, back problems, hip problems and cracks in the rib cage. Not bad for someone who practiced such a bruising, physical style that his peers wondered whether his body could last a decade in the sport.

Each time, Nadal kept fighting back, pushing his limits and continuing to win titles.

But eventually it became too much. While it’s sad to see a sports icon and a great player say goodbye, no one who has been paying attention over the past two years can feel bad about this decision.

If anything, it’s relief. There is no need to suffer anymore for the sake of this sport. He’s done enough.

Things haven’t been the same since that last French Open title. Nadal reached the Wimbledon semifinals a few weeks later, but was forced to withdraw after suffering a major abdominal tear during a five-set quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz. Unfortunately, every attempt to play after that seemed worse than the last.

Although Nadal continued to try to bounce back and stave off the retirement talk, there was little progress. Even at this year’s Olympics, where Nadal was desperate to win a final medal in Paris, he was hardly competitive. The message his body sent him was unmistakable. It was time.

Nadal’s departure from the sport means Novak Djokovic is the last of tennis’ Big Four. Federer has been gone for a few years. An injury-plagued Murray had to retire at the Olympics. And Djokovic, who is playing fewer and fewer tournaments and failed to win a major this year, is unlikely to be far behind.

It’s the end of a great era, but as Nadal said in his farewell video message, everything has a beginning and an end.

He did it all. He did enough. Sufficient.

(This story has been updated because an earlier version contained an inaccuracy.)