Farewells, as they say in professional sport, are hard. But farewells can be beautiful too, as two men who redefined modern tennis have shown.
A couple of years after Rafael Nadal joined Roger Federer in his last tournament to create scenes that still lie fresh in memory — the two sitting next to each other, hand in hand, sobbing along as Federer’s farewell video played out — it was Federer’s turn to evoke emotions in Nadal’s final act. Through the eloquence of words.
On a day Nadal turned up to compete as a professional tennis player in his final tournament, representing Spain in their last eight Davis Cup Finals clash against Netherlands in Malaga, Federer put out a lengthy, moving letter on social media for his good friend and great rival.
“As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional,” Federer wrote.
It was straight from the heart of the classy Swiss; a rarity in today’s world of largely agency-driven posts put out by top sportspersons. It summed up how much Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, pushed Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion. It portrayed their on-court battles, off-court relationship, and everything that sport is meant to be across those two distinct worlds. It showed what tennis, and sport overall, will miss. Two genuine greats, one epic rivalry.
“You know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more,” Federer wrote.
The two last played each other at the 2019 Wimbledon, in a semi-final that Federer won. Yet the Swiss began the letter bringing up the “obvious”. “You beat me—a lot,” he wrote. Their head-to-head rests at 24-16 in favour of the Spanish matador, who was especially lethal against the Swiss with a classy one-handed backhand on clay. The 2008 Wimbledon that Nadal won beating Federer in the final is considered one of the all-time finest battles.
“You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge,” Federer wrote.
Federer then brought up those on-court rituals that define Nadal: those uncompromisingly positioned water bottles “like toy soldiers in formation”, the adjusting of his “hair” and “underwear”. “All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique — it was so you,” Federer wrote.
Nadal arrived on the professional tour, with that baby face and sleeveless tees, when Federer was at the peak of his prowess. In their first meeting on the hard courts of Miami in 2004, the season in which Federer won the Australian Open and scaled the No.1 ranking, Nadal swept him aside in straight sets.
“All that buzz I’d been hearing about you — about this amazing young player from Mallorca, a generational talent, probably going to win a major someday — it wasn’t just hype,” Federer wrote.
“We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens—historic! You made Spain proud… you made the whole tennis world proud.”
Federer also sprinkled some memories outside of their competitive battleground: of that match they played on a court that was half grass and half clay, of shattering attendance records in an exhibition game in South Africa, of that promo shoot they did together where they just couldn’t stop laughing while saying their lines, of Nadal inviting Federer to Mallorca for the launch of his academy in 2016. “Actually, I kind of invited myself,” Federer wrote.
And to end it all, Federer moved to the final stretch. First, of his own, at the Laver Cup in 2022 where, Federer wrote, “sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career”. And then, of Nadal’s.
“We will talk when it’s done. For now, I just want to congratulate your family and team, who all played a massive role in your success. And I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next.”
Federer signed off by addressing himself as Nadal’s “fan”. There will never be another Nadal, another Federer, another Fedal.