Rafael Nadal loses in last match of legendary tennis career at Davis Cup 2024 | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Rafael Nadal's legendary tennis career came to an end on Tuesday.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost 6-4, 6-4 to the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup. Nadal said in October that the Davis Cup final would be his last professional event.

Spain were later eliminated from the Davis Cup after Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Garnollers lost to Wesley Kookhof and Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.

“It might be good in some ways if this was my last match,” Nadal told The Gaurdian's Toemaini Carayol. “…I lost my first Davis Cup match, and I lost my last. So we're closing the loop.”

Nadal has had a number of injuries over the past two years that have taken a toll on the court. He has played just 24 games since the start of 2023 after missing almost an entire year due to a hip injury. The weight of his injuries has been prevalent over the last two years, especially in Tuesday's loss.

When he announced his retirement in October, he noted that he has suffered from overuse injuries in recent years.

“The reality is it's been a tough few years, especially the last two,” he said. “I don't think I've been able to play without limitations. It's obviously a difficult decision, which took me some time. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it's the right time to have a ​to end a career that has been long and far more successful than I could ever have imagined.”