MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal’s remarkable tennis career came to end on Tuesday and he heads into retirement after Spain lost to the Netherlands in the quarterfinals at the Davis Cup Final 8.
The 38-year-old Nadal played on tour for more than two decades and collected 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 on his favorite clay at the French Open, and 92 singles titles overall. He reached No. 1 in the ATP rankings and spent the longest consecutive span in the top 10 in history — nearly 18 full years — until playing sparingly the past two seasons because of several injuries.
Nadal forever will be remembered as a member of the Big Three of men’s tennis, along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Here is a year-by-year look back at the victories, losses, rivalries and injuries that marked Nadal’s career:
Nadal gave it one last go, but he missed three of the four Grand Slam tournaments and went just 12-8 in singles. He got a tough draw at his beloved French Open and lost in the first round to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. At the Paris Olympics, contested at Roland Garros, Nadal was eliminated by Djokovic in the second round of singles, then bowed out in the doubles quarterfinals alongside Carlos Alcaraz. On Oct. 10, Nadal announced that his last professional appearance would be at the Davis Cup, representing Spain at home in Malaga. On Tuesday, Nadal played his final match, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
Nadal lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Mackie McDonald while dealing with a left hip flexor injury. It was Nadal’s earliest Grand Slam loss in seven years. He didn’t play the rest of the year and had hip surgery in June.
Nadal briefly moved into sole possession of the record for most Grand Slam singles titles, breaking a tie with Federer, by claiming No. 21 at the Australian Open, coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev after dropping the first two sets of the final. Nadal then got No. 22 (Djokovic eventually would pass him and is currently at 24) at the French Open, where he overcame debilitating pain in his left foot with nerve-numbing injections to lift the trophy for the 14th time by beating Casper Ruud in the final. That improved Nadal’s career record there to 112-3. He pulled out of Wimbledon before the semifinals because of torn abdominal muscle, then lost in the U.S. Open’s fourth round to Frances Tiafoe.
Blew a two-set lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarterfinals, then lost to Djokovic in the French Open semifinals. Played only two matches the rest of the year because of chronic pain in his left foot.
Pulled even with Federer with 20 Slam trophies with a 13th title at the French Open, defeating Djokovic in the final. Won multiple titles in a season for 16th consecutive year.
French Open title No. 12 and U.S. Open title No. 4 arrived, as did a return to No. 1 at age 33. Lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open final and to Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals. Was troubled by thigh, knee, left hand and abdominal problems at various points.
Won an 11th championship at Roland Garros. Stopped playing two Grand Slam matches elsewhere because of injuries and skipped other tournaments with knee, hip and abdominal issues.
After losing the Australian Open final in five sets to Federer, Nadal returned to dominance at the French Open, dropping just 35 games through seven matches en route to a 10th title there, beating Stan Wawrinka in the final. Added a third U.S. Open trophy — his 16th major overall, moving within one of Federer — and finished at No. 1 in the rankings for the fourth time.
For first time since 2004, Nadal did not reach any Grand Slam quarterfinals. He lost in the Australian Open’s first round and withdrew from the French Open before third round because of an injured left wrist and was out of action for months.
He lost to Djokovic in the French Open quarterfinals and bowed out at that stage or earlier at the other three majors, too, ending a 10-year run with at least one Grand Slam trophy.
Nadal pulled even with Pete Sampras at 14 Slam titles by adding French Open No. 9, beating Djokovic in the final. Lost to 144th-ranked Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon, then missed three months with a bad right wrist. After returning, Nadal sat out two events because of appendicitis.
After seven months off the tour because of his left knee and a stomach virus, Nadal put together a 10-title season that returned him to No. 1. Won an eighth French Open title (beating current Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer in the final) and second U.S. Open title (beating Djokovic in the final), raising his Grand Slam total to 13, trailing only Sampras and Federer (17) at the time.
Beat Djokovic for a seventh French Open title. At Wimbledon, lost to Lukas Rosol in the second round while hampered by a left knee problem that sidelined him the rest of the season.
Hurt a left leg muscle at the Australian Open, but was fine by the French Open and tied Bjorn Borg’s career mark for men with a sixth championship, beating Federer in the final. Nadal lost seven of 10 finals that season, with six of those setbacks against Djokovic, including at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
Stopped during his Australian Open quarterfinal because of an injured right knee, but returned to top form at the French Open: He won his fifth title in Paris and didn’t drop a set, beating Robin Soderling in the final. Won Wimbledon for the second time, then completed a career Grand Slam by beating Djokovic in the U.S. Open final. Finished the year ranked No. 1.
Won his first Australian Open title, defeating Federer in a five-set final, after getting past Fernando Verdasco in a five-set semifinal. Nadal’s 31-match unbeaten run at the French Open ended with a fourth-round loss to Soderling. Nadal was troubled by knee tendinitis and sat out Wimbledon. Dealing with an abdominal issue, he reached the U.S. Open semifinals before losing to champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Topped Federer in the Roland Garros final to collect a fourth consecutive trophy there, making Nadal the first man since Borg in 1978-81 with that long a streak in Paris — and first since Borg to win the title without dropping a set. Again played Federer in the final at the All England Club, but this time Nadal won 9-7 in the fifth set in fading light. Also won a singles gold medal at the Beijing Olympics and ended the year ranked No. 1, despite dealing with tendinitis in his right knee.
A third consecutive French Open title came via another victory over Federer — and then Federer beat him in Wimbledon’s final. Nadal’s clay winning streak reached 81 matches before a loss to Federer in Hamburg, Germany.
Earned a second French Open title, beating Federer in the final there before losing to him in Wimbledon’s final. Stretched his clay-court winning streak to a record 62 matches.
Won the title in his French Open debut; his 11 trophies for the year were most in a season for a teenager in ATP history. Moved into the top 10 in April and remained there until March 2023. Finished 2005 ranked No. 2.
Beat then-No. 1 Federer in Miami. Won his first ATP title in Sopot, Poland, on clay. Defeated Andy Roddick to help Spain top the United States and win the Davis Cup.
Reached the third round in his Wimbledon debut at 17, the youngest man to get that far at the All England Club since Boris Becker was 16 in 1984.
At 15 years, 10 months, he earned first ATP match win in his hometown of Mallorca.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
