Rafael Nadal: ‘There are no good goodbyes’ | ATP Tour

Rafael Nadal

Nadal: ‘There is no good goodbye’

It’s business as usual for the Spaniard as he begins his final week on Tour

November 18, 2024

Saying goodbye is often accompanied by feelings of sadness and longing. However, in the case of Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup Finals this week, he is trying to contain the emotions surrounding his last few days as a professional tennis player. As a result, despite being at peace with his situation, he is reluctant to discuss the nature of his swansong dream.

“There is no good farewell,” Nadal said early in Team Spain’s Monday press conference in Malaga ahead of its quarter-final against the Netherlands on Tuesday. “The movie-script finals are for American films and I realized a long time ago that I won’t be there, so it’s not something that worries me.”

The 22-year-old Grand Slam champion wants to downplay the importance of his farewell, the inevitable retirement process that every athlete endures. “I treat it as well as I can, the same way I tried to approach everything in good times and bad, without overdoing it.”

While the questions were almost all directed at the man of the moment, his tablemates, Carlos Alcaraz, David Ferrer, Roberto Bautista Agut, Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez all expressed their admiration for Nadal’s career. They may be speaking for the entire sports world and every fan of the game.

“Yes, this is the end of my life. I have shared so many years with many of them [his teammates]not so many others, but I feel the same way when I see an athlete I used to watch on TV every week. In the end they are part of your life,” explained Nadal.

“I understand that for many people who grew up watching me play all the time, that time is coming to an end, they will never see me play at a high level again,” continued the 92-time ATP Tour champion. “It is something that is part of life itself, it has happened to everyone and now it is my turn, which is normal.”

The former number 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, at least, will be able to say goodbye the way he wanted to one year ago when he spoke to the media; in the competition. “I don’t deserve to end my career like this, in a press conference,” he said in May 2023 when he announced that this would be his last season as a coach.

“Finally, what I said happened; that this year will probably be the last, and that’s right,” he said in the words he said last year at the Rafa Nadal Academy. “But I wanted to give myself a chance, because I always like to be sure, I don’t want to leave myself wondering if I did something wrong [this or that]…’”.

With just two tournaments played in 2023 (United Cup and Australian Open), he decided to go under the knife to hang up his racquet doing what he has for almost 25 seasons as a professional: playing tennis.

“I know that I have done everything I can, my time has come again [I have to] accept it as such, without any kind of drama to go with the personal satisfaction that I always made the effort required by this situation,” he added. “As I have done many other times and it has worked well for me, the time has come when, because of my age and the accumulation of everything and various injuries, I have to say goodbye now.”

But until then “goodbye” there is at least one chapter left to write, on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup Finals. “We came to compete, we will not let everything else get in the way of what we came to do, which is to try our best to get the best result.”

Although Nadal does not want to discuss his deployment, one thing is clear; lifting his sixth Davis Cup title on Sunday against Spain would not be a bad approach. “It would be good if the whole team could compete, trying to win another Davis Cup. Apart from saying goodbye in a wonderful way, it would be a great joy for everyone.”

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPtour.com/es