Rafael Nadal has laced up his tennis shoes for the very last time after Spain were beaten by the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night.
The 14-time French Open champion has called time on his professional career and sadly it wasn’t possible for Nadal to wave adios in more emphatic style.
This year has been a struggle for Nadal and injuries have taken over his body and ultimately robbed him of a chance to truly bow out of the game in any real style.
Earlier this year he played at the Olympics alongside Carlos Alcaraz but the pair were beaten in the quarter-finals by Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram of the USA.
As a result, it was over to the Davis Cup to provide Nadal with some joy ahead of retirement but things ended in bitter disappointment as Spain lost 2-1 – with the Spanish legend losing his singles rubber to Botic van de Zandschulp.
From the moment Nadal made his debut on the ATP Tour against Ramon Delgado, it’s been obvious that he was something really special and it’s important that his status as a legend remains intact.
Rafael Nadal retires with astonishing Davis Cup record
Right now, Nadal will be hurting. He will be sore from a tough match yesterday but he will also feel emotionally drained after receiving some touching messages from all over the world, with Martina Navratilova having her say on Nadal.
The time might be right for Nadal to retire. However, it’s now a great time to reflect on the brilliant things that he managed to achieve during a long career playing professional tennis.
Naturally, his record-shattering total of 14 titles at the French Open will hog the headlines but his Davis Cup record is also worth remembering now that the curtain has come down on his career.
Nadal is – and will remain – the only player in tennis history to lose the first and last match that he’s ever played at the Davis Cup – winning all of the matches in between.
| Tournament | Year | Opponent | Result/Score |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: CZE vs ESP | 2004 | Jiri Novak | L 7-6, 3-6, 6-7 |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: CZE vs ESP | 2004 | Radek Stepanek | W 7-6, 7-6, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup: WG SF: ESP vs FRA | 2004 | Arnaud Clement | W 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup WG F: ESP vs USA | 2004 | Andy Roddick | W 6-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG PO: ITA vs ESP | 2005 | Daniele Bracciali | W 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 |
| Davis Cup: WG PO: ITA vs ESP | 2005 | Andreas Seppi | W 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: WG PO: ESP vs ITA | 2006 | Andreas Seppi | W 6-0, 6-4, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup: WG PO: ESP vs ITA | 2006 | Filippo Volandri | W 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup: WG QF: GER vs ESP | 2008 | Nicolas Keiffer | W 7-6, 6-0, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup: WG SF: ESP vs USA | 2008 | Sam Querrey | W 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: WG SF: ESP vs USA | 2008 | Andy Roddick | W 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: ESP vs SRB | 2009 | Janko Tipsarevic | W 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: ESP vs SRB | 2009 | Novak Djokovic | W 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Davis Cup: WG F: ESP vs CZE | 2009 | Tomas Berdych | W 7-5, 6-0, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG F: ESP vs CZE | 2009 | Jan Hajek | W 6-3, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: BEL vs ESP | 2011 | Ruben Bemelmans | W 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG R1: BEL vs ESP | 2011 | Olivier Rochus | W 6-4, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG SF: ESP vs FRA | 2011 | Richard Gasquet | W 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 |
| Davis Cup: WG SF: ESP vs FRA | 2011 | Jean-Wilfried Tsonga | W 6-0, 6-2, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: WG F: ESP vs ARG | 2011 | Juan Monaco | W 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG F: ESP vs ARG | 2011 | Juan Martin del Potro | W 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 |
| Davis Cup: WG PO: ESP vs UKR | 2013 | Sergiy Stakhovsky | W 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup: G1 PO: DEN vs ESP | 2015 | Mikael Torpegaard | W 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup: WG QF: ESP vs GER | 2018 | Philipp Kohlschreiber | W 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup: WG QF: ESP vs GER | 2018 | Alexander Zverev | W 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup Finals: RR: ESP vs RUS | 2019 | Karen Khachanov | W 6-3, 7-6 |
| Davis Cup Finals: RR: CRO vs ESP | 2019 | Borna Gojo | W 6-4, 6-3 |
| Davis Cup Finals QF: ARG vs ESP | 2019 | Diego Schwartzman | W 6-1, 6-2 |
| Davis Cup Finals SF: GRB vs ESP | 2019 | Daniel Evans | W 6-4, 6-0 |
| Davis Cup Finals F: CAN vs ESP | 2019 | Denis Shapovalov | W 6-3, 7-6 |
| Davis Cup Finals QF: NED vs ESP | 2024 | Botic van de Zandschulp | L 6-4, 6-4 |
Nadal won the Davis Cup on no fewer than five occasions with Spain, claiming success in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
He featured in all of the finals with the exception of the 2008 victory missing out through injury after winning matches in the quarter-final and semi-final of the event.
Remarkably, Nadal was never taken to a deciding set – either in a five-set or three-set format – following his maiden defeat to Jiri Novak when he was just 17-years-old.
Rafael Nadal’s three best performances in Davis Cup action
Rafael Nadal vs Juan Martin del Potro – 2011
This was a real classic and it typified exactly what Nadal has embodied throughout his career as a tennis player.
After being thrashed in the first set, Nadal was forced to dig deep to see of the Argentine player who was bang in form at the time.
He won the last three sets in emphatic style and helped Spain win the title once again from the depths of despair.
Nadal played some unreal shots during the contest and showcased all of his never-say-die spirit to get over the line.
Rafael Nadal vs Andy Roddick – 2004
This one was special given that Nadal was only 18 and one year earlier, Roddick had been victorious at the US Open to win his maiden Grand Slam title.
After losing a first-set tie-breaker, Nadal dug deep and took out the final three sets in emphatic style to win a vital rubber for Spain.
We’ve also plumped for this one given that it was the first Davis Cup winner’s medal that Nadal claimed during his illustrious career.
Rafael Nadal vs Denis Shapovalov – 2019
It’s impossible not to include this victory as it was his final win during his career playing Davis Cup tennis.
Nadal helped Spain claim the title by beating the Canadian in an extremely convincing style.
He played brilliantly throughout the match and proved himself as the man for the big occasion with an emphatic win.
Nadal made a career on these sort of performances and Shapovalov had no answer to the onslaught of shots that the Spaniard threw at him.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
