Rafa's Road to 22

Rafael Nadal, undoubtedly one of the greatest tennis players to have ever played the game, announced on Thursday that he will retire from professional tennis at the end of the 2024 season. Nadal, who turned 38 in June, has struggled with injuries throughout his career, but the past two years have been particularly hard, making it impossible for him to play without limitations. 20 years after winning the Davis Cup in Seville, Nadal decided that this year's Davis Cup finals, to be played in Malaga, Spain in November, will be his last competition - a full circle moment, as he described it in a farewell message on social media. 

Over the past two decades, Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles, the last one being his 14th triumph at Roland Garros in June 2022. It all began in 2005, when Nadal won his first major at Roland Garros, becoming one of the youngest players to conquer the Parisian Grand Slam, at the age of 19 years and two days, and the second player to win the tournament at his first attempt - something that had only been achieved by the Swede Mats Wilander. This victory was followed by three consecutive wins in Paris in 2006, 2007 and 2008 against Roger Federer.

In 2008, Nadal also won his first Wimbledon, a title he would win again two years later. Although his first defeat at Roland-Garros came in 2009, that year he was crowned champion of the Australian Open, winning his first Grand Slam on hard courts. In 2010, by winning the U.S. Open, Nadal completed the so-called career Grand Slam, i.e. winning each of the four majors at least once. In addition, that year he was also victorious at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, winning three Grand Slams on three different surfaces in the same year. It would go down as the best year of Nadal's career, but there was a lot more to come. Between 2011 and 2022, the Spaniard added 13 more Grand Slam titles to his tally, making him the second most successful male player of all time, trailing only Novak Djokovic, who has won 24 major titles to date.