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Rafael Nadal was visibly emotional during Spain's national anthem at the Davis Cup Finals. The Spaniard may be playing the final match of his career as he takes on Botic van de Zandschulp in the first singles match of the quarterfinal.
Nadal is set to retire from professional tennis after representing Spain at the ongoing Davis Cup Finals. He announced in an emotional video on social media over a month ago that the team event, which he has won four times, will be his final tournament.
On Tuesday, November 19, the Spanish team featuring, Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Marcel Granollers, Pedro Martinez, and Nadal took center stage against the Netherlands featuring Tallon Greikspoor, Jesper de Jong, Wesley Koolhof, and Zandschulp.
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The national anthems of both nations echoed through the Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga as the teams lined up for the occasion. During Spain's National Anthem, the camera focused on Nadal, capturing the 38-year-old visibly emotional and tearing up.
The inconsolable Spaniard, who has proudly represented his country countless times over the past two decades, has delivered some of its greatest achievements in tennis. Overwhelmed by emotion, Nadal struggled to hold back tears as he took the court for Spain one last time.
Watch Nadal tearing up as Spain's National Anthem plays in the background:
Nadal also opened the Davis Cup Finals campaign for Spain as he took on Zandschulp in the first singles match of the tie. Carlos Alcaraz will take on Tallon Griekspoor in the next singles match. The winner of the tie will take on the winner of Germany vs. Canada in the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal "not worried" about what the next chapter in his life after retirement following Davis Cup Finals
During a pre-tournament press conference, Rafael Nadal opened up about his feelings for the next chapter of his life as he prepares to embrace retirement.
"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," he 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," he added.
When asked about what he would miss most after retiring, Nadal mentioned the thrill of competition, the electrifying atmosphere created by fans during big matches, and the unique rush of adrenaline in professional sports.
He acknowledged that while life beyond tennis might bring new sources of joy, the adrenaline of professional sports will be hard to replicate.
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