Rafael Nadal set to retire from tennis with Davis Cup Finals farewell in Malaga

Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion and one of the greatest players of all time will end his career sooner than perhaps expected at next month's Davis Cup Finals, he has confirmed.

Nadal's ending will be a poignant one on home soil in a side captained by an old friend in David Ferrer and could reignite the Nadalcaraz pairing from the Olympic Games, his last tournament which has worked so well.

It means that aside from the Olympic Games, his last singles professional tournament was a final loss to Nuno Borges at the Nordea Open in Bastad back in July.

It has been an up and down return to the sport for the great Spaniard as he has shown glimmers of his great career but also has been well beaten at times including by Alexander Zverev in the first round at Roland Garros where he was lauded as a hero.

This is what he announced on his social networks: ‘Hello everyone, I'm here to tell you that I'm retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it's been a difficult few years, especially these last two, I don't think I've been able to play without limitations. It is a decision that is difficult, that has taken me time to make, but in this life everything has a beginning and an end and I think it is the right time to put an end to what has been a long and much more successful career than I could have ever imagined’.

"It makes me very excited that my last tournament is the Davis Cup Finals and represent my country, I think it's closing this chapter is right as one of my first joys as a professional tennis player was the final in Seville in 2004."

‘I feel very, very lucky for all the things I've been able to experience. I want to thank the whole tennis industry, all the people who make up this sport, my teammates for so many years, especially my great rivals (images of Federer and Djokovic). I have spent so many hours with them and I have experienced so many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.

His team, headed by his uncle Toni and Carlos Moyà: ‘Talking about my team is a bit more difficult for me because in the end they have been a very important part of my life, they are not workers, they are friends and they have been by my side in all the moments I have needed them. Very bad times, very good times, times when they have had to squeeze me, times when they have had to loosen up. We have lived so much together that it is difficult to explain.

‘Family is everything to me. My mother I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we could have everything. My wife, Mery, we have been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done, I think you have been my perfect travelling companion during all these years of my career, coming home and seeing every day how my son is growing up has really been a force that has kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue. My sister, I think we have always had an amazing relationship. My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis, I think thanks to him I have been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career. And my father, who has been a source of inspiration in every way. He has been an example of self-improvement. Many thanks to my father in a very, very special way’.

‘Finally, you, the fans, I can't thank you enough for how you have made me feel. You have given me the energy I needed at every moment. Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true. I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way. I can only end by saying ‘a thousand thanks to all of you and see you soon’’.