The end is near! Rafa Nadal withdraws from Roland Garros and announces retirement date

We worked non-stop and trained all the time, but the treatment didn’t work. I have to stop. I will not train. There have been many frustrating moments, but there is a moment where I have to stop it or I won’t make it to next year. I won’t be able to be at Roland Garros at the moment. You know how difficult it is for me. It’s not a decision I make, but a decision my body makes. On a personal level, I’m in good time. When this professional side is not right, it affects personal matters and I need to take a break. I will not give a return date. I will come back when my body allows me and I feel like I can be competitive with others. Next year will probably be my last year in tennis. I want to use it to say goodbye to all the important tournaments in my career. I fight because, although I don’t like the words, I feel able to say it: I don’t think I deserve to end like this. I have worked hard enough that my end is not here at the press conference, and I will work hard to make it otherwise. I am satisfied that we have done everything in our power to achieve the goals. When the time comes not to compete professionally again, I want the satisfaction of leaving the way I wanted. Don’t let me go early. I realize if I left now, it wouldn’t be early, but it’s always worth the extra effort. This has always been my philosophy and I still stand by it and I intend to fight for it. I want to take part in tournaments that are important to me and take part in the Olympics in Paris. Whether it will be my last tournament, I don’t know now.

Rafael Nadal