Toni Nadal commented on his nephew's decision to end his career, explaining Rafa's plan. The legend wished to embrace one last push on his beloved clay this spring. It ended with one small ATP final and early defeats at Roland Garros and the Olympic Games.

The tennis world will bid him goodbye at the Davis Cup final in November, where he teams up with his protege, Carlos Alcaraz, to represent his country before hanging up his racket for good.

Rafael Nadal’s tennis career will be remembered because of the numbers, yes — the 14 French Open trophies, the 22 Grand Slam titles overall, the nearly two decades in the top 10, and so on — and, without a doubt,