Nadal loses, sent into retirement at Davis Cup as Spain ousted

MALAGA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal's last match as a professional was a 6-4, 6-4 loss to No. 80 Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup as Spain was eliminated by the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Spain lost 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the team event that marked the last tournament for Nadal after more than 20 years on tour and 22 Grand Slam titles.

The crowd yelled “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” when it was all over, and a special ceremony took place at center court to celebrate his career. After speaking to the fans, he cried while a video with his career highlights was shown.

"The truth is that nobody ever wants to arrive at this moment,” Nadal said. “I’m not tired of playing tennis, but it’s my body that doesn’t want to play anymore, so I have to accept the situation. Honestly, I feel super privileged for having been able to make a career out of my hobby, and for having played for much longer than I could ever have imagined. I can only be grateful to life and to all the people that I have here behind me.”

After the ceremony was over, Nadal hugged his teammates and left the court while waving both arms and saluting the crowd one last time.

“I'll speak in the name of Spanish tennis and in the name of the tennis world,” Spain captain David Ferrer said moments earlier. “You know very well what you have meant to the tennis world. We will miss you a lot. The ‘Vamos, Rafa’ chant will always be part of history."

Carlos Alcaraz had extended Nadal’s career for a little longer by defeating No. 40 Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the second singles match, but Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then lost the decisive doubles 7-6 (4) 7-6 (3) to van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof.

The Dutch will play in Friday's semifinals against either Germany or Canada, which meet on Wednesday. The Netherlands hadn't played in the semifinals since 2001.

“It was a tough match to play. Playing Rafa here in Spain, probably the biggest sportsman here in Spain," van de Zandschulp said. "Atmosphere was crazy, and for me, when I grew up he was an idol of me. It was a really tough match, but yeah, happy I got it done in the end.”

It wasn't clear if Nadal would have played another match even if Spain had advanced, as he said after his loss that if he was Ferrer he would not pick himself to play again in the semifinals.

“Probably the easy move and maybe the right move is to change,” Nadal said. “I mean, if I would be the captain, probably I will change, I don’t put myself the next day. If we go through, that’s my feeling.”

After his loss, the 38-year-old Nadal was cheering for his teammates on the Spain bench by center court, often yelling and pumping his fist after crucial points won by his younger teammates. He was standing up near the end, vividly cheering for Spain's duo on the court, but as the Dutch celebrated their victory the Spain great could only look on in apparent despair. Nadal was later biting his fingernails while sitting alongside Alcaraz ahead of the ceremony prepared for him.

Nadal was used to winning in the Davis Cup, earning 29 singles victories in a row in the tournament. He helped Spain win the Davis Cup in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.

“It’s in some ways good, maybe, if that was my last match,” Nadal said. “I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So we close the circle.”

Nadal hadn’t played an official match anywhere in 3 1/2 months and had a 12-7 singles record in 2024.

His last official competition was the Paris Olympics in August, when he lost to longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the second round. Nadal reached the doubles quarterfinals with Alcaraz in Paris, and last month he played two exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia.

“I knew it could be my last match as a professional and the emotions were difficult to manage,” Nadal said. “I wasn’t able to read the game quickly enough to feel in control. When you’ve spent so much time out of competition, everything is decided by small details and I’m not in the same form as players who are on the circuit. Today won’t be the day for me to criticize myself."

Nadal put up a good fight against the big-serving van de Zandschulp in the first set but had his serve broken late. He was also broken to start the second set, and was never able to fully get back into the match on an indoor hard court at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.

“That was a tough, tough match to play,” van de Zandschulp said. “Playing Rafa here in Spain, probably the biggest sportsman here in Spain, so the atmosphere was crazy. For me, when I grew up he was an idol of (mine).”

Nadal had said ahead of Spain’s debut he would not want to play any singles match if he didn’t feel he was ready, and said he wanted Ferrer to make what he thought was the best decision for the team without taking the hype about his retirement into consideration.

“I’ll retire from the sport but I will continue to be available for whatever is needed, and to being a good ambassador, which is what I have tried to do my entire life," he said.

The 35-year-old Koolhof was also playing in his last tournament before retiring.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis