Rafael Nadal is an icon of modern sport and the news of his retirement has saddened the whole world. Everyone knew that the end of his career was very near, but fans hoped that the Spanish legend would play a few tournaments in 2025 as well. The former world number 1 had seriously considered this hypothesis, which is why he did not want to receive any farewell ceremony either in Rome or at the French Open, but changed his mind after the Paris Olympics.

Roland Garros and the Olympic tournament were his two main goals in 2024, but the result was disappointing in both cases for several reasons. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was not particularly lucky in the draw at the French Open, having had to face Alexander Zverev already in the first round.

The Spaniard played a good match against the German ace, who reached the final, but his level was not high enough to achieve the feat on the iconic Philippe Chatrier. Rafa tried to win another medal at the Olympics over the summer, playing both singles and doubles alongside his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, but failed to achieve his goal. In singles his run ended in the second round against his eternal rival Novak Djokovic, also due to an injury suffered on the eve of that match, while in doubles the run of the two Spanish champions stopped in the quarterfinals.

After pondering his future for a long time, the former world number 1 announced that the Davis Cup Finals would be the last official event of his glorious career. Nadal practiced hard in the following weeks and showed up in Malaga well in advance, giving good signs during the practice sessions.

Spain captain David Ferrer decided to field him in singles in the tie against the Netherlands, a choice that turned out to be wrong. Rafa gave his best as always, but was defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets. That defeat conditioned the tie and condemned Spain to a premature elimination in the quarterfinals.

A new documentary

As everyone knows, Rafa will be the protagonist of a documentary on Netflix that will be released next year and which will reveal many unpublished details about the career of the Spanish legend. In the meantime, fans can watch the new documentary titled ‘Nadal, the King of Paris’ which will be broadcast on Eurosport on December 26.

“You could feel that if he was able to do that in his first time in Paris, that will mean that maybe I was thinking in very optimistic way, he could win five, six Roland Garros. That would have been a great record. Of course, we were very wrong about it” – Alex Corretja said within the documentary.

Corretja also reflected on Rafa’s battles against Swiss Roger Federer and Serbian Novak Djokovic in Paris: “Roger Federer was the king. He was the perfect player. He was the elegance, you know, the class.

Then on clay, best of five, against Rafa, he was his worst nightmare. I have to admit that that day I felt like it could not be possible what we saw.

Djokovic was the only one who could rise to this challenge, because he realized that it was possible, because he had the mental strength that few players have, and he had more assets than Roger Federer, because Djokovic was complete, he knew how to play everywhere.”

The King of Clay

Over the years, Nadal has developed into a very competitive player on all surfaces. However, there is no doubt that red clay is the surface on which it marked an era. Facing Rafa on red clay, particularly at the French Open, was one of the biggest challenges in modern sport.

The Philippe Chatrier court was the ideal court for his game, he had no weaknesses there and triumphed 14 times, a record that is unlikely to ever be broken. It is no coincidence that the former world number 1 won the last title of his legendary career at Roland Garros in 2022, thanks to a simply memorable run.

The Spaniard had arrived in Paris with a serious foot injury and was not even sure if he would play, but he underwent an infiltration and played the whole tournament with his foot anesthetized. The 22-time Grand Slam champion defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in five sets in the round of 16, before beating Nole Djokovic in the quarterfinals against the odds.

Rafa ‘benefited’ from the serious injury suffered by Zverev in the semifinals, before dominating Casper Ruud in the final. A truly sensational triumph that left the whole world speechless and confirmed the indissoluble bond between Nadal and red clay.