Tennis legend Rafael Nadal said in a video posted on social media that he will retire from the sport next month.

“The reality is that it has been a difficult few years, these two especially,” Nadal said. “But in this life everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it is the right time to end a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

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Nadal will hang up his racket after representing Spain against the Netherlands at the Davis Cup in Malaga from November 19-21. Nadal has led Spain to the Davis Cup title four times during his career.

Nadal, 38, has built an incredible resume on the court in his 23-year career since turning professional in 2001. Of his 92 ATP titles, he won 22 Grand Slam singles championships. The men’s Slam total ranks second all-time behind Novak Djokovic’s 24. Fourteen of those wins came at the French Open, where he compiled a career record of 112-4, with three losses to Djokovic. Nadal was world No. 1 for 209 weeks, including five times at the end of the year.

His career prize money of $134.9 million is second only to Djokovic ($184.5 million) and just ahead of Roger Federer ($130.6 million).

The Spaniard was also strong off the field, with an estimated $425 million in endorsement and appearance earnings, bringing his career total to $560 million, including prize money.

Nike has been Nadal’s biggest supporter throughout his career; His annual payday after bonuses exceeded $10 million during the years he was No. 1 in the world. Nadal’s other long-standing partners include Babolat, Kia, Santander, Telefonica, Infosys, Cantabria Labs and Richard Mille. Nadal has earned seven-figure appearance fees at tournaments for most of the last decade.

Injuries have plagued Nadal over the past two years as he has only played 23 matches since the start of 2023, winning 13 of them, but the brands are still signing him to represent them. Louis Vuitton recently hired Nadal for an advertising campaign with Federer. In January, Nadal became an ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Tennis Association and plans to open a Rafael Nadal Academy in the kingdom.

Nadal’s retirement means Djokovic will be the last of tennis’ Big Three still active, as Federer retired in 2022. Between 2004 and 2023, Djokovic, Federer and Nadal won 65 of the 79 Grand Slams played. The trio won at least two Slams each in those years, but were excluded in 2024 as Carlos Alcaraz and Janik Sinner each won two events.

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