Rafael Nadal announced he will be retiring from tennis after competing in the Davis Cup finals in Malaga this November
Here are some of the top milestone moments from the Spanish great’s illustrious career
In December 2004, Nadal became the youngest player to win a singles game in a Davis Cup final and helped Spain win the title that year
In 2005, Nadal beat Mariano Puerta in the French Open final to lift his maiden Grand Slam title
Nadal became the second player after Bjorn Borg to win four consecutive French Open titles (2005-2008)
He broke the record soon after, winning five titles from 2010-2014
After losing consecutive Wimbledon finals in 2006 and 2007 to Roger Federer, Nadal finally bettered his rival in ‘one of the greatest Grand Slam finals ever played’ in 2008
The Mallorcan won a gold medal for Spain at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by bettering Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez in the final
In 2009, Nadal won his first hard-court Grand Slam title after nabbing the Australian Open crown, defeating Federer in a thrilling five-set final
By winning the 2010 US Open, Nadal completed a Career Golden Slam, becoming only the second men’s singles player to achieve the feat
After winning the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal pulled past Federer’s record for most men’s singles Grand Slam titles (21)
Nadal holds the record for the most French Open titles (14) after his last win came in the 2022 season, which made him the second oldest to win a Grand Slam, at 36 years and two days