Rafael Nadal of Spain, the 14-time French Open champion, and 22-time grand slam singles champion, made tennis headlines on Thursday with the announcement of his plans to retire from professional tennis at the age of 38. Here is the reaction from X over the last 48 hours.
Mil gracias a todos
Many thanks to all
Merci beaucoup à tous
Grazie mille à tutti
谢谢大家
شكرا لكم جميعا
תודה לכולכם
Obrigado a todos
Vielen Dank euch allen
Tack alla
Хвала свима
Gràcies a tots pic.twitter.com/7yPRs7QrOi— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) October 10, 2024
Nadal announced his retirement in a four minute and 45 second video in Spanish with an English transcript. He thanked his family and fans. Nadal also discussed his plans to participate at the 2024 Davis Cup in Malaga. This would come two decades after the 2004 Davis Cup in Seville, where Nadal led Spain to the title. In the final, Nadal defeated Andy Roddick of the United States, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2.
Congratulations to the great @RafaelNadal on an extraordinary career. Thank you for the joy Rafa! Humble as ever, when we spoke in 2022 Rafa told me it doesn’t matter who the GOAT is, “I achieved my dream, I’m an important part of the history of our sport, that makes me proud” pic.twitter.com/nU37io8yVG
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) October 11, 2024
British journalist Christiane Amanpour shares her interview from two years ago on CNN. At the beginning of the interview, she asked Nadal if “you were ready to declare, or have people say, that you are the greatest of all-time?” Nadal, like many times in his career, was very humble in his response, stating, “I don’t think much about that.” Since the interview, Nadal’s 22 grand slam titles have been past by Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who has won 24 grand slams.
Though Rafael Nadal has deservingly owned headlines in the world of tennis, another player shared similar news this week.
Richard Gasquet announced at the end of the week he will call it a career at Roland Garros 2025. 🎾 https://t.co/5SX65iFu14
— LastWordOnSports Inc (@lastwordonsport) October 12, 2024
It should be noted that Nadal is not the only player who has announced his plans to retire over the last week. Another is France’s Richard Gasquet, who announced his plans to retire after the 2025 French Open. Gasquet is not a grand slam champion, but has reached three grand slam semifinals (2007 and 2015 Wimbledon, and the 2013 United States Open).
3. @RafaelNadal Announces His Retirement:
Rafael Nadal has announced his upcoming retirement from the sport after a glittering career in which he amassed 22 grand slam titles
Nadal won 14 of his grand slams at the French Open and lost just four of his 116 matches in Paris
— Gibrán (@GIARLAHA) October 12, 2024
Nadal’s record of 112-4 at Roland Garros is remarkable. The only players to beat Nadal in his career at the French Open were Robin Soderling of Sweden (fourth round in 2009), Djokovic (quarterfinals in 2015), Djokovic again (semifinals in 2021), and Alexander Zverev of Germany (first round in 2024).
Congrats on a brilliant career @RafaelNadal – truly one of the most talented and ferociously competitive people to ever play ANY sport.
It was a pleasure to watch you. Enjoy your retirement! pic.twitter.com/LhVZ3iaQQg— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 10, 2024
What I will remember most from Nadal was how he still was able to deliver a formidable presence on the court when he began so far from the baseline when returning a serve. The bottom line is Nadal’s foot speed was incredible, and was instrumental in many of his victories.
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