Rafael Nadal, 22-time Grand Slam champion, announces his retirement from professional tennis

Rafael Nadal is calling it a career. In a video on his X account on Thursday, the 22-time Grand Slam champion announced that he will officially retire from professional tennis competition following the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in November.

"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially," Nadal said. "I don't think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it's the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."

Nadal previously alluded to the fact that 2024 might be his last professional season, but hadn't made any announcements prior to Thursday. Most recently, Nadal participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics in both the singles and doubles tournaments.

"I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country," Nadal said. "I think I've come full circle, since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Seville in 2004."

Nadal, 38, has dealt with significant injuries in recent years as he missed nearly all of the 2023 tennis calendar due to a hip injury. He suffered another setback at the start of the year with a small muscle tear in his hip, though not in the same spot where he underwent surgery.

In June, Nadal announced that he was going to skip Wimbledon this year as he prepared for the Summer Games. The Spanish star has two Wimbledon titles to his name with the most recent win coming in 2010. He has also won a pair of Olympic gold medals during his professional career, taking home an Olympic singles gold medal in 2008 and an Olympic doubles gold medal in 2016.

Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles over the course of his career. His greatest success came at Roland Garros where he won the French Open an astonishing 14 times. The 38-year old won his final Grand Slam tournament in 2022 when he was victorious at the French Open.