Rafael Nadal’s sister Maribel reacts to Roger Federer’s emotional farewell note before Spaniard’s final tournament

On Tuesday, November 19, Rafael Nadal's sister, Maribel Nadal reacted to Rodger Federer's heartwarming note for the Spaniard before his final tournament. Nadal is set to retire after the Davis Cup Finals being held in Malaga.

Both tennis legends, Nadal and Federer, have shared a great rivalry on the court and have pushed each other to improve. On Tuesday, Roger Federer penned a heartfelt farewell note for his Spanish rival, recalling the moments they shared on and off the court.

Federer expressed gratitude toward the 22-time Grand Slam winner, claiming that Nadal helped him reignite his passion for the game.

"Vamos, Rafa! As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional. start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge," Federer wrote.

He added:

"I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear... All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you."

This farewell note caught the eye of Nadal's sister, Maribel Nadal, who reposted it on her Instagram story and added two emoticons to express her feelings:

"@rogerfederer🥹❤️"

Rafael Nadal’s sister's Instagram story

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Rafael Nadal opened up about his post-retirement concerns

Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on October 10, revealing that the Davis Cup would be the final tournament of his career. In a press conference during the Davis Cup, the Spaniard opened up about his life after retirement and said that he was not worried about the next chapter of his life and had the habit of indulging in other activities except tennis.

"I mean, I am not worried about the next chapter in my life. I have been always happy without tennis, and I had a lot of moments in my life that I was not able to play tennis because of injuries, so I spent a lot of months doing other things. Is true that during recovery so now is a different approach," Rafael Nadal said.

While expressing feelings of uncertainty in stepping into a new 'challenge' after retirement, the 38-year-old said:

"But at the same time always accept the challenge of an important change in my life that for everyone, when you have important changes in your life, you need to accept the process and accept that the things at the beginning gonna be a little bit, I don't know if difficult, but different, and you need to respect the process, no? So I don't know how the things going to be."

Rafael Nadal will draw curtains on what has been nothing short of an illustrious career with 92 ATP singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam singles titles.