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Tennis legend Nadal to retire after Davis Cup Finals

 Rafael Nadal, the 22- time Grand Slam champi­on, will retire from tennis at the end of this season.

The 38-year-old will represent Spain in his final appearance at next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

Nadal has barely played over the past two seasons because of injuries and suggested last year he could retire at the end of the 2024 season.

In a video message released yesterday, Nadal said: “I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.

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

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

Nadal retires as the sec­ond-most successful men’s singles player of all time, behind only long-time rival, Novak Djokovic.

Dubbed the ‘King of Clay’, Nadal won the French Open sin­gles title a record 14 times, winning 112 of his 116 major matches at Roland Garros.

Nadal is also a four-time US Open champion and won both the Australian Open and Wim­bledon twice.

He also won Olympic singles and doubles gold and helped Spain to five Davis Cup titles, most recently in 2019.

Alongside enduring rivals, Djokovic and 20-time major champion, Roger Federer, Nadal formed the ‘Big Three’ that dom­inated the men’s game from the early 2000s and drew in legions of fans. —BBC

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