Bidding Farewell to the King of Clay: Rafael Nadal Retirement
Written by Jay Postrado
There is arguably no tennis player who could be considered the greatest to have ever played on a surface. For grass, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Martina Navratilova all have a claim. The same goes for the hard court as Novak Djokovic, Steffi Graf, and Jimmy Connors can say that they were the best to ever wreak havoc on that surface. However, there is only one King of Clay, and he will retire after the Davis Cup Final — Rafael Nadal.
It’s hard to decipher which of the 92 ATP majors, 36 masters, 22 grand slams, and Olympic triumphs would clock in as the best performance in Rafael Nadal’s career, but we’re going to do it anyway. Here are the top moments of Rafa’s career before he hangs up the racket and the warrior headband.
- The Greatest Match Ever Played, 2008 Wimbledon
Ironically, the best moment of the Spaniard’s career did not come on the clay court. SW19 had always been a challenge for Rafa because the grass was Roger Federer’s to claim. Think of it as Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus between him, Nole, and Roger — they all had their own courts to dominate. However, the fighter in Nadal just would not allow himself to be beaten by Roger in the Wimbledon final for a third time.
The atmosphere was intense at Centre Court, one would think it was ripped out of a movie. Rain poured which made the surface difficult to maneuver in and both had everything to lose. For Roger, it was to stamp his legacy as the top player despite the Roland Garros final loss earlier in the year. Rafa, on the other hand, had not won a grand slam outside of the clay court.
After nearly five hours of duking it out and five grueling sets, which is still the longest final ever at SW19, Nadal did the unthinkable. John McEnroe could only describe that moment as the ‘greatest match ever played,’ and everyone agrees to this day. It ended with a bonkers scoreline of 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, and 9-7 in favor of the Spaniard.
- A Career Finished as Friends, 2022 Laver Cup
A growing theme in Rafa’s career is that he was inspired by the idea of taking down Roger, whether it was on the record books or in a good ole knockout round. The only exception to this was when his fiercest rival decided to retire in 2022. All of the vitriol and snarky comments were tossed aside as Federer and Nadal teamed up to lead Team Europe against Team World.
Many legends wanted to bid Roger a proper goodbye by teaming up with him. The list included Stefanos Tsistsipas, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Casper Ruud. Despite the big names teaming up alongside Federer, it was Nadal who got chosen to share the court with the legend in his last career game.
Against Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock, the two would win the first set, 6-4. But, they did end up collapsing 6-7 and 9-11 in the last two sets. It was not the ideal way to go out but the parting words from Roger surely pulled on everyone’s heartstrings, “I’m even happier to finish our career as friends, after everything we shared on the court as rivals.”
Tears poured down as they ended a career-long rivalry after playing each other 40 times and headlining 24 finals.
- Return of the King, French Open 2022
When it comes to getting injured and sucking it up, Nadal was the best. In fact, he did not enjoy a year when he was free of any ailments in his career. 2021 was when analysts and fans alike thought that he was slowing down. Roland Garros was his bread and butter after winning it 13 times but aging caught up to him as he lost in the semifinals.
2022 was his year to reclaim the crown despite being 36 years old. He battled through Djokovic and Alexander Zverev before facing Casper Ruud in the final. Admittedly, Nadal looked bothered by injuries in the middle of breaks, but he opted to make light work of the Norwegian. It was an easy win for a record 22nd grand slam title as the Spaniard swept his opponent 6-3, 6-3, and 6-0.
Not long after the triumph, his body started to give up just like what everyone had thought. Nadal suffered a tear in his abdomen that was seven milimeters long in Wimbledon and was forced to withdraw. Roland Garros was arguably the last that the world would see of prime Rafa.
- Going for a Golden Slam, 2010 US Open
Much like Wimbledon, Flushing Meadows was not usually Nadal’s territory. 2010 breathed a different kind of air in New York and the Spaniard picked up on it. After losing in the Australian Open quarterfinal, a switch clicked in his head. He proceeded to claim his rightful French Open crown and outdueled everyone on the grass at SW19.
Nadal only lost 10 of his 81 games played which is considered to be one of the best runs in men’s singles history. However, this was not the highlight of that year. He faced rising star Novak Djokovic who was ranked third in the world at the time in the US Open Final. Rafa did have a fairly difficult time. However, he still only dropped one set with the scorelines of 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, and 6-2.
There are many things to be said about the records he broke by winning in New York, but we’ll cut it short. To put it simply, he is one of only thirteen players to have achieved a golden career grand slam after winning the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- Dominance in his teens, 2005 French Open
Everyone had heard of how tough of a time a young Nadal gave Federer in the 2004 Miami Open. It was not making much headlines because the 17-year-old may have just had a fluke against the Swiss. However, things started to turn as the Spaniard started his ascent into the rankings. He was ranked 49th in the world just a year before but finished this season as second despite being a teenager.
This was when the world realized that no one was winning on the clay court for a long while. Nadal won 24 straight matches on clay, which tied Andre Agassi’s record as a teenager. The true test came at Roland Garros because it was his first time joining. But, it was all a breeze for the young Rafa. He faced Federer in the semifinal and dominated the matchup. Mariano Puerta was up next, but he also could not put up much of a fight.
By the end of it, he became the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras. This also started his reign as the King of Clay and Paris.
There are still a lot of moments in Rafa’s career that deserve a thorough recap. La Decima, the 2008 Australian Open, and passing the torch to Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 Paris Olympics all come to mind. If all goes well, he could wrap up his career as a winner at the Davis Cup. How about you — what’s your favorite moment in his career?