The 38-year-old Spaniard, winner of 22 Grand Slam trophies, including 14 at Roland Garros, retired from the sport after his final match at the Davis Cup in Malaga in November.
For over two decades, the "Big Three" of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated the sport, pushing each other to unimaginable heights. Now, a new story begins.
Retired Swiss star Federer and Nadal faced each other 14 times at Grand Slam tournaments with Nadal holding a 6-3 advantage in finals.
The 38-year-old Nadal last month announced he was putting an end to his glittering tennis career after the Davis Cup final
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal is aiming to cap his emotional farewell from tennis with another Davis Cup triumph in Malaga next week.
Carlos Alcaraz said he was hoping to make Rafael Nadal's tennis farewell at the Davis Cup Finals a victorious one after he was dumped out of the ATP Finals at the group stage with a straight-sets defeat to Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Novak Djokovic implored long-time adversary Rafael Nadal to put off his planned retirement after defeating the Spaniard Saturday in what was likely to be the final chapter of their "amazing rivalry".
The 38-year-old Nadal announced last week he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, announced last week that he will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Rafael Nadal says he is "going to die" trying to return to the level of tennis that saw him capture a record 22 Grand Slam singles titles after his hopes of a first-ever ATP Finals title and becoming year end world number one were extinguished on Tuesday.
Federer the person was even more important to me than Federer the tennis player.
When we think about Rafa vs Federer, we think elegance vs swagger, endurance vs aggression. The contrasting playing styles of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has played a vital part in determining the competitiveness of their rivalry, Nadal with his heavy topspin centred ground strokes at the clay courts against Federer’s single-handed backhands at grass courts, it felt like they were destined to do this forever.
Some of the most iconic moments of Roger Federer's glittering career featured Rafa Nadal across the net but on Friday his great Spanish rival will be alongside him for his final bow.
Rafael Nadal said it was "an honour" to share "amazing moments" with Roger Federer after the Swiss great announced his retirement from tennis on Thursday.
Frances Tiafoe believes a new generation of players are ready to take over from tennis's "Big Three" after his stunning upset of Rafael Nadal at the US Open on Monday.
Rafael Nadal admitted Monday that he wasn't sure when he will return to action after Frances Tiafoe condemned him to his earliest US Open exit since 2016.
Rafael Nadal fell to his earliest US Open loss in six years on Monday when he was knocked out by Frances Tiafoe while Iga Swiatek became the first Polish woman to reach the quarter-finals.
Rafael Nadal defeated close friend Richard Gasquet for the 18th time to reach the US Open fourth round on Saturday as world number one Iga Swiatek made the last 16 for a second successive year.
Rafael Nadal overcame a freak injury scare when he accidentally hit himself with his own racquet to reach the US Open third round on Thursday.
