Ahead of Rafael Nadal’s final appearance at the Davis Cup Finals, there was much talk about a special farewell ceremony planned for him. “We’ll give Nadal a farewell worthy of his legacy,” Davis Cup Finals tournament director, Feliciano Lopez said ahead of the tournament. However, the ceremony failed to live up to the expectations and hype surrounding it. After Spain got knocked out in the quarterfinals, team captain, David Ferrer, revealed the actual reason behind the disappointing farewell of Rafael Nadal.

Interestingly, there were talks that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic could be heading to Spain to attend Nadal’s farewell ceremony and give him a fitting send-off. However, the two were nowhere to be seen as Ferrer felt that their absence was one of the reasons why Nadal’s farewell ceremony turned out unimpressive.

During an interview, Ferrer mentioned, “With this format of the Davis Cup, everything changed. It was a Tuesday, people were coming home from work. The farewells were after the defeat and in a hurry. It was a bit sad. Federer, Djokovic, Gasol, who is a close friend, were missing…”

While many predicted Spain to sail through against the Netherlands, a shock defeat in the last eight meant that it was the end of Nadal’s illustrious career. The talks about a ‘shabby’ farewell for Nadal were heard across the tennis circuit and even Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya blasted the authorities for a poor send-off, saying, “The feeling we are all left with is it was a bit scruffy and shabby. It’s true that it’s a Tuesday night but this is sport and we knew months in advance that if Spain lost, Rafa would retire. Nadal is far above all this.” 

Nonetheless, it was an emotional moment for Nadal, having played at the highest level for more than two decades. After playing his last match, Nadal made a sad admission.

Rafael Nadal after his retirement: ‘My life is changing radically’

It wasn’t the end that Nadal would’ve liked. While he hoped to help his nation lift the Davis Cup title, Nadal lost the singles match against Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands. Although Carlos Alcaraz leveled the tie by winning his singles match, Spain lost the deciding doubles rubber as they crashed out of the tournament.

After the match, Nadal made a grim statement, saying, “I’ve already put an end to my professional career, so I’m retired. The Davis Cup is always a nice experience, I’ve enjoyed it. In the end, the result wasn’t what we would have liked, but that’s sport. My life is changing radically. I’m accepting everything as normal and a different life than what it has been like over the last 30 years.”

With his tennis career done and dusted now, Nadal would look to spend quality time with his family and enjoy his personal time off. Moreover, he has even got an invitation from Mardy Fish to join an exclusive golf club boasting of retired stars like Roger Federer and Andy Murray. What do you think Nadal will be doing post-retirement?