The news that no one wanted to hear is now a reality: Rafa Nadal says goodbye to the world of tennis. However, he is not going to leave without saying a final goodbye. The national and international tennis legend published, through his social networks, a video announcing his farewell
“But in this life everything has a beginning and an end and I think it’s the right time to put an end to it to what has been a long and much more successful career than I could have ever imagined,” he commented. However, he not only made his withdrawal public, but also the date and place. “I am very excited that my last tournament is the final of the Davis Cup representing my country. I think it is closing the circle, since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the final in Seville in 2004,” he confessed.
Indeed, the last chance to see Rafa Nadal competing on a court will be during the Davis Cup. The man from Manaco will be part of the Spanish team, as revealed in September 2024. The 14-time Roland Garros champion will once again wear red and yellow along with Carlos AlcarazRoberto Bautista, Pablo Carreño and Marcel Granollers, In addition, your team manager will be David Ferrer.
As he himself expressed, it is about closing a circle. Of the six Davis Cups that Spain has, five have been won with Nadal in its ranks. The double Olympic medalist raised the salad bowl in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 y 2019 (the sixth was achieved in 2000).
After achieving a flawless group stage, the Invincible Armada is preparing to fight for the septic Davis Cup in its history. The 112th edition will not only be special because the last “Let’s go Rafa!” In addition, it has become the largest international team competition in the world after achieving a record of 157 participating nations.
The final phase will be played between the days November 19 and 24 at the José María Martín Carpena Sports Palace, Málaga. That is, it will be the same venue that hosted the competition in 2022 and 2023. The format will be a direct elimination stage between the eight qualifiers during the group stage, which corresponds to the best two in each group.
The quarterfinals will be decided between Tuesday, November 19 and Thursday, November 21. The first semi-final will be played on Friday the 22nd and the second on Saturday the 23rd and, finally, the grand final will be played on Sunday the 24th. Those classified for this phase are: Italy, Spain, Australia, Germany, United States, Argentina, Canada and Netherlands. Each round is played in the best of three matches: two singles and one doubles; all matches best of three sets.
Spain’s first rival will be Netherlands. Paul Haarhuis is in charge of captaining the Dutch. Sitting behind him will be: Tallon Griekspoor, Botic Van de Zandschulp and the doubles pair of Wesley Koolhof and Jesper de Jong. For its part, Germany will face Canada, the United States against Australia and, finally, Italy against Argentina.