“Wants to be remembered as a good person from a small village in Mallorca”

Rafael Nadal has won practically everything in his impressive career.

22 Grand Slam titles, the French Open 14 times, gold at the Olympics.

But when the end of his tennis life suddenly comes to an end in Malaga, he doesn’t want to be measured by titles and trophies. “The way I want to be remembered is as a good person from a small village in Mallorca.”

This is what the great Nadal spoke after the Spanish team’s exit from the Davis Cup Finals. With a clear two-set defeat against Botic van de Zandschulp, Nadal initiated the surprising 1-2 defeat against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

As a cheering spectator in the stands, he finally saw his time as an active player come to an end with the defeat of the Spanish double shortly after midnight, without any involvement of his own.

An end that the organizers apparently weren’t really prepared for that evening. It took a while before the farewell ceremony began for one of the world’s greatest athletes.

In a long speech, Nadal thanked his family and many companions. His wife Maria and his two-year-old son Rafael listened to the words in the stands with emotion.

For a long time, Nadal was able to suppress tears during the initially surprisingly emotionless honor. But when messages from old rivals like Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic and Spanish soccer stars like Andrés Iniesta or Raúl were shown on the video cube, tears flowed.

“A lot of people work hard. Many people try their best every single day. I was very lucky. I was a child who followed his dream and who achieved more than I could have ever imagined,” said Nadal and was cheered one last time by his fans.

Over the past few weeks, the 38-year-old had once again tried everything at his academy in Mallorca to get himself in shape for the final act of his career. But the physical strain of a 22-year career could no longer be concealed in his last game.

Since his last Grand Slam title at the French Open 2022, Nadal has only been able to play sporadically. He was repeatedly stopped by injuries. He played his last official game at the Olympic Games in Paris at the end of July against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. There should be a few more games in Malaga. But nothing came of it.