Rafael Nadal to return to tennis less than a week after retiring with never-before-seen Carlos Alcaraz clash lined up

RAFAEL NADAL announced his retirement from professional tennis at the end of the 2024 season.

He released an emotional, five-minute video confirming his decision to hang up his rackets after 23 years on the ATP Tour and 22 Grand Slam titles.

Here’s what he said…

Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis.

The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially.

I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.

It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.

But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.

And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.

But I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country.

I think I’ve come full circle, since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004.

I feel super, super lucky for all the things I’ve been able to experience. I want to thank the entire tennis industry.

All the people involved in this sport: my long-term colleagues, especially my great rivals.

I have spent many, many hours with them, and I have lived many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Talking about my team is a little bit more difficult for me because in the end my team has been a very important part of my life.

They are not just co-workers, they are friends.

They have been by my side at all the times I have really needed them.

Very bad moments. Very good moments. Moments when I had to be pushed. Moments they gave me more slack.

We have lived so much together that it is hard to explain.

My family is everything to me.

My mother. I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we would always have everything.

My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done.

I think you’ve been the perfect travel companion during all these years of (my) career.

To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue.

My sister, I think we have always had an incredible relationship.

My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis.

I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.

And to my father, who I believe has been a source of inspiration for me in every sense of the word.

I think he has been an example of effort, of overcoming.

Many, many thanks to my father in a very, very special way.

And finally, you, the fans.

I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel.

You have given me the energy I have needed at every moment.

Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true.

I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way.

I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all and see you soon.