Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will retire from professional tennis after the Davis Cup finals in Malaga, Spain, in November.

“The reality is that it has been a difficult few years, particularly the last two. I don’t think I was able to play without restrictions,” he said in a video posted on Thursday, October 10.

“It's obviously a difficult decision that took me some time. But in this life everything has a beginning and an end.”

Nadal, 38, won his first professional match at age 15 at a Challenger tournament in Seville and has won 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 French Open. He will finish his career with a record of 112-4 at Roland Garros, where he lost his last Grand Slam match to Alexander Zverev earlier this year.

In 2008, he broke Roger Federer's streak of five Wimbledon titles in a final that lasted 4 hours and 48 minutes, marking the first seismic turning point in a 15-year rivalry between the two players at the top of the men's game. Alongside Novak Djokovic, Nadal and Federer formed the “Big Three” and have won a combined 66 Grand Slam titles, with Djokovic still an active player.

While the 2008 Wimbledon final is regularly regarded as one of the best matches of all time, there is also Nadal and Djokovic's 5 hour and 53 minute Australian Open final in 2012, which Djokovic won in five sets and her The 2009 semi-final meeting in Madrid, which Nadal won, was at least next to the mark in three cases.

Along with these two, Nadal will retire from tennis as one of the greatest male players of all time.

“I am very, very lucky for all the things that I have experienced. “I would like to thank the tennis industry and everyone in this sport: my long-time colleagues, especially my great rivals,” he said.

Go deeper

What is it like playing Rafael Nadal on clay? We asked the players

Nadal won his last Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open, essentially playing on one foot after numbing his left one with injections to be able to compete. He then suffered an abdominal tear at Wimbledon 2022 and another injury at the Australian Open 2023. His last singles appearance was at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he lost in a lopsided straight sets defeat to Djokovic, who would go on to win Olympic gold. Nadal won a gold medal in singles at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

“I think it is the right time to end a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined,” he said.

Nadal is expected to play at the Davis Cup with Carlos Alcaraz, who at 21 is already a four-time Grand Slam winner.

Go deeper

Ghosts of Clay Courts Past: Rafael Nadal's comeback is really about his legacy

(Photo: Clive Mason/Getty Images)