RAFAEL NADAL will be back on the court just SIX DAYS after announcing his retirement from tennis.
Nadal, 38, called time on his glittering 23-year career last Wednesday in an emotional video.
AFPRafael Nadal is returning to tennis less than a week after announcing his retirement[/caption]
But despite announcing his plans to hang up his racquet, Nadal still has a few matches left in him – including a potential never-before-seen clash with Carlos Alcaraz.
Nadal will be taking part in this week’s Six Kings Slam in Riyadh alongside five other superstars in Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
The lucrative exhibition event in the Middle East will pit the six heavyweights against each other across three days.
As exciting as the brand new event sounds, it won’t earn any of the players ranking points as a non-ATP-sanctioned event.
However, players won’t mind that they’re not earning ranking point with the payday they’re set for.
It’s claimed that each player is guaranteed a minimum prize of £1.12MILLION, with the winner pocketing a whopping £4.5MILLION – the largest prize in tennis history.
Nadal, who will be playing for the first time since the Olympics, will face the winner of Rune vs Alcaraz on October 17 to battle for a place in the short tournament’s final on the 19th.
Nadal won’t be playing his last match during the tournament though, with his final appearance set for next month’s Davis Cup finals in Malaga in front of an adoring home crowd.
ReutersNadal could face Alcaraz in his first match at the Six Kings Slam[/caption]
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The 22-time Grand Slam winner revealed that injury has scuppered the last two years of his career during his goodbye message on social media.
Saying: “I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis.
“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially.
“I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.”
Nadal secured his first Grand Slam on his debut at the French Open in 2005, two days after his 19th birthday.
Incredibly, he won his first 31 matches at Roland Garros and picked up the trophy in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 – earning him the title of the King of Clay.
He joins fellow tennis icon Andy Murray in making the decision to bring his career to an end this year.
Rafael Nadal’s farewell video in full
RAFAEL NADAL announced his retirement from professional tennis at the end of the 2024 season.
He released an emotional, five-minute video confirming his decision to hang up his racquets after 23 years on the ATP Tour and 22 Grand Slam titles.
Here’s what he said…
Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis.
The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially.
I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.
It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.
But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.
And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.
But I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country.
I think I’ve come full circle, since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004.
I feel super, super lucky for all the things I’ve been able to experience. I want to thank the entire tennis industry.
All the people involved in this sport: my long-term colleagues, especially my great rivals.
I have spent many, many hours with them, and I have lived many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Talking about my team is a little bit more difficult for me because in the end my team has been a very important part of my life.
They are not just co-workers, they are friends.
They have been by my side at all the times I have really needed them.
Very bad moments. Very good moments. Moments when I had to be pushed. Moments they gave me more slack.
We have lived so much together that it is hard to explain.
My family is everything to me.
My mother. I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we would always have everything.
My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done.
I think you’ve been the perfect travel companion during all these years of (my) career.
To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue.
My sister, I think we have always had an incredible relationship.
My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis.
I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.
And to my father, who I believe has been a source of inspiration for me in every sense of the word.
I think he has been an example of effort, of overcoming.
Many, many thanks to my father in a very, very special way.
And finally, you, the fans.
I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel.
You have given me the energy I have needed at every moment.
Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true.
I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way.
I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all and see you soon.
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