Rafael Nadal to Retire: His Impact on Tennis, Endorsement Legacy

The second member of tennis’s iconic Big Three is hanging it up.

Rafael Nadal announced Thursday through a clip posted on social media that he will retire from professional tennis following the Davis Cup Finals in November. He will finish his 23-year career with 22 Grand Slam titles, the second most in men’s tennis history behind Novak Djokovic and ahead of Roger Federer, who retired in 2022. He also sits between the two in all-time career earnings at $134.95 million.

“I think it’s an appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined,” Nadal said in Spanish.

The announcement from Nadal, 38, did not come as a major surprise as over the last two years, the Spaniard has struggled to stay on the court. In 2024, he missed three of the four Grand Slam tournaments due to injury—and was ousted in the first round at Roland-Garros, where he won a record 14 titles and has a statue built outside the stadium.

“The reality is it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations,” Nadal said.

Lasting Legacy

For all of Nadal’s star power and earnings on the court, he also created a legacy off it.

Nadal has earned an estimated $425 million in earnings from endorsements and appearances. His most iconic endorsement deal is with Nike, with whom he signed when he was just 13. In 2013, the Swoosh cemented Nadal’s status as a top endorser of the brand by unveiling his famous raging bull logo. Nadal, who spent 209 weeks at world No. 1, reportedly earned as much as $10 million a year from Nike during his prime.

Other endorsements he’s secured over the years include Babolat, Kita, and Richard Mille.

Nadal is also the most accomplished Spanish tennis player in history. Rising star Carlos Alcaraz, currently world No. 2, credited Nadal for his decision to go pro. 

“It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me. [Nadal] has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become [a] professional tennis player,” Alcaraz told reporters in Shanghai on Thursday.