Mumbai: The night came to an end much like the way the evening had begun for Rafael Nadal in Malaga — in tears. Through that, the Spanish legend played and lost a match which eventually turned out to be his last in professional tennis after Netherlands, despite Carlos Alcaraz’s win that stretched Nadal’s career by a few more minutes, knocked Spain out of the Davis Cup Finals.
An upset on paper but for Spain celebrating the final steps of their most revered athlete, the day was hardly about the result (“there will be many more Davis Cups, there’s only one Rafa”, as Alcaraz had said). And as the organisers played out a tribute video tracing the 38-year-old’s more than two-decade long tennis journey during a special ceremony, Nadal’s eyes welled up. Like they did when he sang the national anthem before the start of his match.
Through all these emotions, Nadal didn’t lose his sense of humour.
“I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one,” he said. “So, we close the circle.”
The circle had the Spanish sensation gobble 22 Grand Slam titles — the second most in men’s tennis history — including an unparalleled 14 French Open trophies, rule 209 weeks as the world No.1 and spend 912 consecutive weeks in the top 10, grab two Olympic gold medals and gift his country four Davis Cup titles (between his first loss in 2004 and the last in 2024, Nadal won 29 straight Davis Cup singles matches).
“I leave with the peace of mind that I have left a legacy, which I really feel is not just a sporting one but a personal one,” Nadal addressed the spectators at the Martin Carpena Arena engulfed in chants of “Rafaaa-Rafaaa”.
When it was Nadal’s time to listen as a video montage paid tribute to him, the emotions took over. It featured messages from fellow tennis greats and some of his biggest rivals — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams — as well as stars across sports including footballers David Beckham, Raul and Andres Iniesta and golfer Sergio Garcia.
Few tennis pros are as loved and respected around the globe and across generations as Nadal is. And that, more than his records, is what Nadal hopes to have left behind.
“The titles, the numbers, are there, so people probably know that,” Nadal said. “But the way that I would like to be remembered more is like a good person, from a small village in Mallorca. I just want to be remembered as a good person, a kid that followed their dreams and achieved more than what I had dreamt.”
Perhaps there was no better person to speak about Nadal’s legacy than Alcaraz, his young compatriot who grew up with a taste for the sport by watching Nadal and is touted to carry forward the rich Spanish flavour in men’s tennis.
“His legacy is going to be eternal,” Alcaraz said. “It is difficult — at least for me — to feel that I should continue the legacy that he has left.
“It is just great to have had Rafa in tennis, in Spain and in my life.”