puts an end to a legendary career that didn’t get the Hollywood ending it deserved

I have been sure of this for many years Rafa Nadal He tried to shorten this thought of what the moment of his retirement would be. Constant injuries have led him down an inevitable path, an outcome that happens because his body has said enough, not because he is tired of playing tennis.

“My goodbyes will be what they will be,” he said the day before learning he would never play professional tennis again. And indeed, his farewells were what they were and his sporting career is already starting to be a beautiful story, a story that will never be forgotten.

It was certainly not an idyllic end for one of the greatest champions in the history of sport. He said goodbye, losing his match and seeing his team lose, the Spanish team of Davis Cup with which he achieved so much glory in his professional career.

But Nadal had assumed he wouldn’t experience a perfect farewell, if such a thing exists on the day one of life’s most important chapters ends: “Movie endings are normally for American films. I realized that I wouldn’t have one of them, so it’s not something that worries me in that sense. I was prepared and efficient. Hollywood did not come to his aid.

Even Rafa was harsh and critical of himself after losing his last match as a professional. “Seeing what I saw from my level in competition, compared to the way I trained, if I was captain, I would not choose myself,” he said of a possible participation in a hypothetical next playoff. Demanding to the end.

Mixed feelings

In a career surrounded by success on all sides, fate wanted the moment of Rafa Nadal’s farewell to be marked in a very different context. Defeat and sadness crept in as he said goodbye, on his last day as a professional, but Nadal will always be able to boast that there were other, more important factors on his farewell day.

Starting with his family. His loved ones, his loved ones and his entourage were present in the stands of the Martin Carpena. No one could miss such an exceptional day during which what no one wanted to happen could happen.

This warmth that he noticed so much throughout his sporting career and which he himself recognized in his acceptance speech was also felt in the most difficult moments.

His friends and colleagues were also there. Carlos Moya, David Ferrer, Carlos Alcaraz… The Spanish Davis Cup team worked hard throughout the day not only to offer Spain a place in the semi-finals of the competition, but above all to further extend Rafa Nadal’s career and delay his goodbye.

And the public. Since we learned that Nadal would be present at Malaga to compete in the Davis Cup and there he would give his last rackets as a professional, madness broke out. Everyone wanted to be there and Martín Carpena’s seats became one of the most requested places in the world.

This crowd that filled the pavilion pushed Rafa as soon as he jumped on the court and almost made him cry before starting his match. These same people stayed until the end, until the early hours of the morning, to witness a unique moment, this separation between Nadal and tennis at the highest level.

It may not have been the best day, but the tribute ceremony surely served to alleviate some of that feeling of worry that had been gripping Rafa ever since he began to realize that his career was finished.

For a moment he could feel like the most loved person on the planet, and in the final video projected on the screens, different emblems of the sport and even rivals and friends from recent years on the tracks wanted to make it clear that his the legacy will be indelible. The career of Rafa ends, but his mark, his memory and his exploits will long float in the mind of any fan.