Rafael Nadal‘s farewell at the Davis Cup Finals stirred up some chatter. Rennae Stubbs, who once coached Serena Williams, compared his low-key exit to Steffi Graf’s.
Nadal faced off against Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands in what turned out to be his last professional match. The home crowd in Malaga watched as he lost in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz tried to save the day, but after a tense battle, van de Zandschulp and Marcel Granollers knocked out Team Spain.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rafael Nadal | 38 | 215 | 7 - 5 |
Fans React to Nadal’s Farewell
The retirement ceremony came next. Nadal spoke for over ten minutes before a video tribute played with messages from athletes like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Fans might think it was a bit underwhelming for such a tennis legend.
Nadal expressed his wish to be remembered as a kind person from Malaga rather than just for his 22 Grand Slam titles. However, not everyone was happy with how things went down. Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and former coach, thought it fell short of expectations.
Carlos Moya didn’t hold back either; he called the ceremony “shabby” and said it wasn’t worthy of someone so iconic. Meanwhile, David Ferrer felt sad that Federer and Djokovic weren’t there in person since they were such big rivals of Nadal’s career.
Djokovic had promised to attend but hasn’t explained why he didn’t show up. Federer did send a heartfelt message on Nadal’s last day as a pro but wasn’t present at the stadium either.
On Rennae Stubbs’ podcast, she noted how similar Rafa’s quiet exit was to Steffi Graf’s own understated retirement. Unlike Williams or Federer who love the spotlight, Rafa seemed content with just having family around him during his final moments on court.
“It’s like Steffi,” Stubbs mentioned about Graf’s sudden departure due to injuries and newfound love with Andre Agassi: “She just walked away.” She added that Rafa is more like Steffi than Roger or Novak because he doesn’t crave attention—he simply loves playing tennis.
What do you think? Should there have been more fanfare for someone like Rafael?
