“I’m here to tell you that I’m retiring from professional tennis,” Nadal said in a video message posted on social media. “The past few years have been very difficult, especially the last two seasons. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to play without limits. It was a difficult choice, and one that took me a long time to make, but in life everything has a beginning and an end, and I think this is the right time to end a career that has been much longer and more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

Nadal will retire after the Davis Cup Finals later this year (taking place from November 19 to November 24), where Spain will play the Netherlands for a place in the semi-finals, then… the final, and will be an opportunity for him to play alongside his “successor” – young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

For Nadal, the 2024 Davis Cup Finals is the perfect time to say goodbye. For international tennis fans, especially those in Vietnam who grew up, lived and matured through the images of the Big Three in the early 21st century: Roger Federer since 2003, Nadal since 2005 and Novak Djokovic since 2008, this is a sad time to say goodbye.

Federer has retired for 2 years, Nadal will retire next November and Djokovic will only play for about 1-2 more years. The legends who have lived and inspired Vietnamese tennis fans are gradually fading into the past, leaving the entire ATP Tour world, despite the many young Next Gen talents, as a “soulless” world.

Goodbye Nadal. There will be no second Nadal, the man of bravery and fighting spirit on the dusty red court, the warrior, determined not to surrender, not to give up on any ball, penetrating the elegant and aristocratic game, conquering many people who once devotedly loved Federer.

Goodbye Nadal, who almost had to retire twice in the past, before officially hanging up his racket at the end of this year, due to chronic and thorny knee and hip injuries, but still continues to dedicate himself to this day because of his endless desire and love for tennis, because he still wants to bring the audience his final days to the fullest.

Goodbye Nadal. There will be no second Nadal, just like there is no second Federer and later, there will be no second Djokovic. Thank you, the one who lived and played football as a daily life, bringing to the fans, the audience, the supporters the most luxurious and beautiful days of tennis, and now, it is sad to have to leave.

Goodbye Nadal, the majestic image in the middle of the windy clay court, his clothes fluttering, full of worldly spirit, but still carrying the noble aura of a King, of a Champion… That majestic image will forever be imprinted in the hearts and minds of fans, for decades to come!