Rafael Nadal has officially retired from his professional tennis career.

The Spanish tennis player has played his final match and officially bid farewell to professional tennis, reports Vesti.kz.

Rafael Nadal

In his last tournament, Rafa was unable to help the Spanish team secure the Davis Cup. The team championship is currently taking place in Malaga, Spain. The hosts fielded their strongest lineup but lost to the Netherlands in the semifinals with a score of 1:2. During this match, Nadal was defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp with a score of (6:4, 6:4).

"Titles and numbers certainly exist. People probably know them. But I would like to be remembered as a good person from a small village in Mallorca. I want to be remembered as a good person who followed his dream," the tennis player said in his farewell speech.

Thus, the match against Botic marked the end of the illustrious career of Nadal. The 38-year-old athlete is a 22-time Grand Slam champion, second only to Djokovic.

Over his 22-year career, Nadal won 1,080 matches and topped the ATP rankings for 209 weeks. Additionally, the Spaniard set the record for consecutive weeks in the top 10, totaling 912 weeks.