Roger Federer co-founded the Laver Cup and makes his mandatory appearance at the tournament every year, even after retiring at the same tournament in 2022. He joined Rod Laver himself and the two captains, Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi, at the O2 Arena ahead of the ninth edition of the event. The tournament kicks off on September 25th and will run for three consecutive days. As Federer returns to the Laver Cup, Rafael Nadal’s vision turns 10 years old. 

The Spaniard sought to create a venue in his hometown of Manacor where young players could pursue a career in tennis while still attending school and upholding the principles of effort, humility, and resilience that took him to the top of the sport. That vision became the Rafa Nadal Academy, and on the eve of its 10th anniversary, Nadal personally invited his great rival and friend Andy Murray back to Mallorca to celebrate the occasion. 

“Hello Andy, how are you doing? I didn’t call you because I’m sure you’re playing golf, so I don’t want to disturb you,” he said on a video message which he posted on social media  “But hey, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the academy here in Mallorca. It’s going to be the 3rd of October, and I thought maybe you can come here, maybe we can play a golf match before the celebration. 

“I know you have been practicing a lot, even like professional almost. I am not able to practice as much as you, but I think I can still be competitive so we can have a good match maybe,” he added. 

“But then later maybe you can pick up some of your friends and I’m going to pick up some of my friends, and maybe do a team competition here in the academy to celebrate the 10th anniversary. Let me know what’s your thoughts. If you can, it will be something fantastic for everybody here in the academy to welcome you back.”

The invitation lands just as Murray has already found his way into tennis, playing a special event with current British No. 1 Arthur Fery ahead of the Laver Cup at the O2. It marked a special moment as the country’s former top-ranked player and current graced the court together in London. Fery is serving as the alternate on Team Europe for this weekend’s event. 

If the exhibition goes ahead as planned, it will mark Murray and Nadal’s first match against each other since May 2016, when Nadal beat him 7-5, 6-4 in the Madrid Open semifinals. That result extended Nadal’s dominance in the rivalry to 17 wins against Murray’s 7, a series in which the Spaniard held the edge on every surface, including a 7-2 mark on clay and a perfect 3-0 sweep on grass.

Two contrasting retiring pathways

Since his last game in 2024, Murray has been exploring all corners of the game, taking a short-term coaching stint with Novak Djokovic, before parting ways mutually after six months. More recently, he started a channel on YouTube called ‘The Set’ with his brother Jamie, combining backstage tennis access with lighter challenge-type videos, such as an early video in which he attempts to test KSI’s tennis skills. He even took up a coaching stint with Jack Draper, but due to Draper’s injury, they were not seen in action much. 

Nadal, on the other hand, has stayed away from the sport. He has not played any exhibition matches or taken up any coaching stints. However, he has attended matches from the court and trains players at his academy, giving them his invaluable advice, which even included Iga Swiatek. 

In October 2016, Nadal decided to launch the academy in a ceremony attended by Roger Federer, and the concept is now successfully beyond Mallorca, with satellite academies and programs in Kuwait, Mexico, Greece, Hong Kong and elsewhere. It has also produced genuine results on tour, most notably Alex Eala, this year’s breakout star, who trained at the academy on her way to cracking the WTA’s top 20. Bringing Murray back onto a court there, a decade after their rivalry last played out competitively, would double as a fitting tribute to just how far that original idea has traveled.