Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced that he will retire from professional tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November.
Nadal, the 38-year-old Spaniard, will finish his career with 22 Grand Slam titles, the second most amongst men after Novak Djokovic (24) in the Open Era.
Here’s the complete list of Majors won by Nadal:
French Open 2005
Rafael Nadal won his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2005. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal made his first appearance at Roland Garros in 2005, two years later than he was originally supposed to. A right elbow injury in 2003 had shifted his Grand Slam debut from the clay court in Paris to Wimbledon where he reached the third round. He went on to play the US Open that year and Australian Open in 2004. However, a stress fracture made him miss not just Roland Garros but most of the clay court season that year.
After taking down Roger Federer, the title favourite, in the semifinal, the 18-year-old Nadal defeated Argentina’s Mariano Puerta 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 to clinch his maiden Major.
He became just the second man after Mats Wilander in 1982 to win Roland Garros on his debut in Paris.
French Open 2006
Nadal defeated Federer to defend his French Open title in 2006. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Going into the French Open final in 2006, Federer was one win away from becoming just the third man after American Don Budge and Australian Rod Laver to hold all four Majors at the same time.
However, Nadal bounced back from losing the first set to defeat the Swiss Maestro 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) and defended his title in Paris. The Spaniard became the first player to beat Federer in the final of a Grand Slam.
French Open 2007
Nadal completed a hattrick of French Open titles in 2007. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
In a repeat of the 2006 final, Nadal defeated Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the first man to lift the trophy in Paris for three years in a row since Swedish great Bjorn Borg, six-time French Open champion, who achieved the feat between 1978 and 1981.
French Open 2008
Nadal clinched his fourth straight French Open title in 2008. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
One hour 48 minutes is all it took for Nadal to deliver a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 hammering against Federer in the French Open final in 2008.
The final set, which lasted 27 minutes, was the first bagel in a Grand Slam match for the Swiss since his very first French Open match, against Australia’s Pat Rafter in 1999. It was also the shortest men’s final at Roland Garros in terms of games played since 1977 and the quickest in terms of time since 1980.
Wimbledon 2008
Nadal clinched his first Wimbledon and overall, fifth career Grand Slam title in 2008. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Less than a month after a dominant victory over Federer in the French Open final on clay, Nadal outlasted the same opponent 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 in one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time on grass at Wimbledon.
For Nadal, it was his first Grand Slam title on another surface.
Australian Open 2009
Nadal’s first Slam outside Paris came at the Australian Open in 2009. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal’s captured his sixth Grand Slam title after beating Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2 in the Australian Open final in 2009.
The Spaniard, thus, became one of the few players in history to win Majors on all three surfaces.
French Open 2010
Nadal clinched his fifth French Open and seventh career Grand Slam title in 2010. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
In 2009, Robin Soderling shocked the world by handing Nadal his first-ever defeat at Roland Garros. A year later, the Spaniard beat the same opponent 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reclaim the throne.
Wimbledon 2010
Nadal, who missed the Wimbledon in 2009 due to injury, clinched the title in 2010 with a straight-sets win over Tomas Berdych in the final. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal clinched his second title at Wimbledon in 2010 by defeating Czechia’s Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the summit clash. It was a special victory for the Spaniard since he was forced to miss the 2009 edition due to injury.
US Open 2010
Nadal completed the career Golden Slam by winning the US Open in 2010. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to claim his maiden title at the US Open.
The win helped him complete the Career Slam (winning all four Majors at least once), the Calendar Surface Slam (winning Majors on all three surfaces in the same year) and the career Golden Slam (winning all four Majors as well as the singles gold medal at the Olympics).
French Open 2011
Nadal tied Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles, the most by anyone in the Open Era, by winning the 2011 edition. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
The triumph at the French Open in 2011 made Nadal, the then 25-year-old Mallorcan, the first man since Sweden’s Bjorn Borg to win six French Open titles, the most by anyone in the Open Era.
Nadal took down Federer 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final.
French Open 2012
Nadal won a record-breaking 7th French Open title in 2012. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal went down to Djokovic at the Australian Open in 2012 in the longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era history. A few months, when the two opponents met in yet another Major final, this time in Paris, the Spaniard got redemption as he won 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 against the Serbian.
With this title, Nadal became the most decorated man in French Open history.
French Open 2013
Nadal became the first man to win the same Major eight times with his triumph at Roland Garros in 2013. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal brushed aside compatriot David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a little over two hours to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy in Paris for the fourth year running and overall, eighth time in his career.
US Open 2013
Nadal won his second US Open title in 2013. | Photo Credit: AP
Nadal defeated Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to claim his second title at Flushing Meadows in 2013. Overall, it was his 13th Major title.
French Open 2014
Nadal won his fifth straight French Open title in 2014. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal faced Djokovic yet again in a Grand Slam and managed to win again. The Spaniard, with his 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 triumph, became the first man to win the French Open title for five consecutive years.
French Open 2017
Nadal won his first Grand Slam in three years at the French Open in 2017. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal ended the dry spell of three years without a Grand Slam in some style as he lifted his 10th French Open title - La Decima in Spanish - with the kind of authority and domination rarely seen in the sport.
Nadal defeated Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. It was his third title at Roland Garros which had come without dropping a set in the entire tournament. In fact, Nadal lost a combined total of 35 games in his seven matches, the lowest since Swedish legend Bjorn Borg dropped just 32 on his way to winning the 1978 edition.
US Open 2017
Nadal won his 16th Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2017. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Nadal became the champion in New York for the third time in 2017. He took down South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the final to take his tally of Grand Slam titles to 16.
French Open 2018
Nadal matched Margaret Court’s all-time record for the most number of times (11) a player had won a singles Major in history with his triumph at the French Open in 2018. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal faced a new challenger in Dominic Thiem in the 2018 final in Paris but he passed the test with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 scoreline.
The Mallorcan won his 11th French Open title, matching Margaret Court’s all-time record for the most number of times a player had won a singles Major in history.
French Open 2019
Nadal clinched his 12th French Open title in 2019, setting a new record for the most titles won by a player at the same Major in singles. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal and Thiem faced each other in the French Open final for the second year in a row. While the Austrian did put up a better fight, the more experienced Spaniard won 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.
With his 12th title-winning run at Roland Garros, he surpassed Margaret Court for the all-time record of claiming a single Major the most number of times.
US Open 2019
Nadal clinched his 19th Grand Slam title with a thrilling five-set win over Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final in 2019. | Photo Credit: AP
Nadal looked set for a straight-sets win at the US Open in 2019 before Russia’s Daniil Medvedev made an incredible comeback. However, Nadal survived the challenge to clinch the title 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.
It was the Spaniard’s fourth title in New York and overall, the 19th Grand Slam of his career.
French Open 2020
Nadal matched Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles with his triumph at the French Open in 2020 | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
In what will now be remembered as the last time Nadal and Djokovic faced each other in a Grand Slam final, the Spaniard won the summit clash 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 at the French Open in 2020. The tournament was rescheduled to late September due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the fourth time in his career, Nadal lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy without dropping a set all tournament. With his triumph, he also matched Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Australian Open 2022
Nadal clinched his second and final Australian Open title with an epic comeback from two-sets-to-love down against Medvedev in 2022. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Nadal clinched his second Australian Open with a comeback for the ages. After being down two-sets-to-love against Medvedev, the Spaniard turned the tide to emerge triumphant 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in Melbourne.
With this win, Nadal overtook Federer’s tally of 20 Grand Slam titles.
French Open 2022
Nadal clinched his 22nd and final Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2022. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Nadal defeated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to win a record-extending 14th French Open and overall, the 22nd Grand Slam title of his year.
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