Former
Serena Williams’ coach
Rennae Stubbs likened
Rafael Nadal’s personality to that
of tennis legend
Steffi Graf following a subdued farewell ceremony marking the
Spaniard’s retirement at the recent Davis Cup Finals.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had struggled with injuries
in his final years on tour. Nadal played his last professional match against
the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp, losing in straight sets.
“It was enough for Rafa"
After Rafa’s defeat, Spain’s hopes of advancing in the Davis
Cup and extending the former World No. 1’s career rested on Carlos Alcaraz.
Despite Alcaraz defeating Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets, the Spanish
doubles team of Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers fell to Van de Zandschulp and
Wesley Koolhof, sealing the Netherlands’ victory and Nadal’s retirement.
Following the series, a brief 10-minute farewell ceremony
was held for Nadal. However, it lacked the presence of high-profile colleagues
such as
Roger Federer and
Novak Djokovic, who participated only through
pre-recorded video tributes.
The 14-time Roland Garros champion bid farewell through
tears, expressing heartfelt gratitude to his fans. However, the simplicity of
the ceremony drew criticism from figures like Nadal’s coach Carlos Moyá and
Spain’s Davis Cup captain David Ferrer, who lamented the absence of Federer and
Djokovic at the event.
Rafa Nadal at 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
"It’s
like Steffi. It’s interesting because Steffi just dropped the mic and walked
away because she was hurting,” commented Rennae Stubbs on her podcast. “Her
body was hurting, her knee was hurting, her foot was hurting, her back was
hurting. She was in love. She’d just met Andre, and they were dating, but she
was different so she just stopped.'"
"She
just walked away, but she’s very different to these personalities. She didn’t
love the spotlight, she just loved playing. I think Rafa is more similar to
Steffi than Roger or Novak or Andy,” she added.
"Even
the way he retired, just the whole circumstances around it, it was more about
playing at home, being with his family, there was no other players there. There
was just his teammates and it was kind of low-key and it was kind of like for
Rafa that was enough."
"For
Steffi it was like, 'Yeah, I don’t need all that pomp and ceremony.' The first
thing I said to her when she told me she was retiring, I was like,'Wait what?
The US Open is in like three weeks. Why don’t you do it there?' And she’s like,
'Nah, I’m good.'"