Rafael Nadal retires

Rafael Nadal retired from tennis. The Spaniard, along with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, formed the “Big Three” that dominated the men’s game for nearly 20 years from the early 2000s. Nadal was almost unbeatable on clay: He once won 81 consecutive games on the surface, and clinched nine French Open titles out of 10 between 2005 and 2014. But he was also victorious on grass and hard courts, winning eight Grand Slams outside France.

His rivalry with Federer, with whom he played perhaps the greatest final of all time — a five-set classic at Wimbledon in 2007 — was epic but friendly. The Swiss champion, who retired in 2022, paid tribute to Nadal on Thursday, saying, “What a career, Rafa! I always hoped this day would never come.”