Rafael Nadal is retiring from tennis on time

For more than 20 years, Rafael Nadal relied on his reputation for authenticity.

Roger Federer was the tennis politician, a simple fan of neutrality. Novak Djokovic was destined to tackle the difficult task of fitting into a sport defined by the Nadal-Federer rivalry by trying out a range of identities. He has only recently settled into his best form: a tennis statesman inclined to let go of the antagonistic tennis demon he loves so much and that always lurks within him.

Rafa just did Rafa. He was never afraid to be painfully honest about what was happening before his eyes or around him. Sometimes he used his words, punctuating a sentence with his trademark: “This is my truth.” Sometimes it was one of those eyebrows he raised with the curve of his forehand, or the sarcastic grin that could barely contain his disbelief.

“Really, amigo?” He could have said when Federer played on until he was 41, essentially on one knee during his final rounds, or when Andy Murray bravely tested rackets and tried to brave spinal surgery this spring and summer . Nadal shared with them a desire to give no more, but his decision to quit at 38 after the Davis Cup final in Málaga this November seems almost rapid, despite the persistent physical insecurity of his last two years.

Nadal gathered all the data he needed to conclude that his time had passed in 16 matches over four months, all on red clay, the ground that had once been arguably the most difficult task in any sport to defeat him. He won 10 and lost six, including two painful and somewhat one-sided defeats against Alexander Zverev and against Djokovic on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros, his supposed living room. That's it, regardless of that raging bull, never-give-up mentality that has impressed friends and foes alike for ages.

The last meeting between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic was a signal to him that it was time. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

“He's mentally the strongest player I've ever seen, and I'm not just talking about tennis, I'm talking about all sports,” his friend and compatriot Feliciano Lopez said in an interview on Thursday.

He never doubted the mentality. Nadal wanted to play without physical restrictions. He couldn't do it.

“It's obviously a difficult decision that took me some time,” he said in his farewell video.

“Everything in this life has a beginning and an end. I think it’s the right time to end a career.”

How Rafael Nadal will leave tennis

It's true that this has been in the works for about two years, ever since Nadal stalled while chasing a forehand at Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open in January 2023. His eyes were so wide it looked like someone had stabbed him in the hip.

In June of that year, he underwent surgery to repair two torn muscles, then launched a final comeback, suffering another series of setbacks each time he felt his game might still be within reach. Ultimately, Nadal could not entertain the illusion that he would ever again be able to compete with the best players in the world.

Looking back, it probably didn't take that long. In today's elite tennis, players must be able to score a certain number of easy points with their serve. This was particularly true for Nadal, who no longer had the speed or ability to chase balls for four hours in five sets as he had done for 20 years.

He could no longer inflict the same damage on his serve, a shot that was always a certain limitation, even if he had managed to transform it from a real weakness into a weapon of sorts. He was no longer able to lift or twist his body as he once had, and he hit two second serves every time he stepped to the finish line. That wouldn't change even if he gave up hard court tournaments and the Wimbledon lawn and thought about one last trip to the French capital, where he, the boy from Mallorca, has his statue.

At Rafael Nadal's last French Open, he was dealt a cruel hand by Alexander Zverev's draw. (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images)

If he couldn't go there with the dream of doing something important, he wouldn't bother. He didn't need another afternoon of admiration and parting gifts when the game before would be little more than a farewell party.

“I prefer to stay with all the great memories I have,” he said during a press conference ahead of the 2024 French Open.

Hubert Hurkacz, who also served Federer the humiliation of a Wimbledon bagel, beat Nadal at the Italian Open ten days later. Nadal was cheered after the game and didn't mince words about his performance.

“I made a disaster,” he said after the game.

A period of good health and a solid week of training before the recent French Open gave him some hope, but the draw put Zverev in the best shape of his life. Nadal said he felt good enough to perhaps improve with each game, but the pairing didn't allow that. Given his ranking and his health, the draws probably wouldn't have helped him.

And then the final data point at the Olympics came in a second-round match against Djokovic, his longtime opponent. In their 60th meeting, Djokovic won 6-1, 6-4 in a game that wasn't as close as even the score would suggest.

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Like Hurkacz, Nadal was cold and clear in his assessment of what transpired that afternoon. He knew where his tennis stood. Djokovic had controlled the court all day, playing from every comfortable position, punishing Nadal on his serve and taking away his legs, as Nadal had done to so many on that red dirt for so long.

“He was much better than me,” Nadal said at the time.

He could have continued playing. In an individual sport, no one cuts you out of the team. Especially not in tennis, and especially not in tennis with Nadal, whose tournaments gave him wild card entries as long as he could ask for it. He could have spent the next year enduring blows like those from Hurkacz, Zverev and Djokovic and then being celebrated in his agony by crowds around the world.

He didn't need that. When he put it back in the spring, he preferred to stick with all of his great memories.

(Top photo: Julian Finney / Getty Images)