Rafael Nadal is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time. He certainly has the records to prove it. With 22 Grand Slams to his name, the Spanish tennis star overshadows even the likes of Roger Federer (20) and Novak Djokovic (21).
Another tennis star who has been incredibly popular and earned similar achievements in the sport is Serena Williams. The 40-year-old however has hinted at retirement at the start of the US Open, shocking the whole world in the process.
The US tennis ace has stunned everyone after defeating World number two Anett Kontaveit to enter the third round of the US Open.
Following the announcement of her retirement, Nadal has posted a video on social media thanking Serena Williams for the great career that she had.
In the video posted by ATP Tour, Nadal says, “Hey Serena. Just from my side, I can tell you, Thank You. Thank you for all the amazing things you did for our sport, such an amazing ambassador.”
“It’s been a huge honour to share with you almost all my tennis career. Honestly, I have plenty of memories of you winning, playing, emotional moments so, have been a huge privilege,” continues Nadal.
Nadal ends the message by wishing Williams for the future. He says, “All the best for your future life. Hopefully, we can keep seeing each other around the tour. All the very best and see you soon.”
.@RafaelNadal with a special message for Serena. ?#ThankYouSerena | @WTA pic.twitter.com/kpxsRnzmq3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 1, 2022
Nadal had earlier shown disappointment for Williams’s retirement. He had said, “From a sporting perspective, it’s a shame that Serena is retiring. On the other hand, she deserves to enjoy everything she has achieved. Serena has worked hard for a long time, with determination, dedication and discipline. I hope she will stay around tennis somehow; that would be good for tennis. Serena is a legend.”
Williams defeated Number two ranked Kontaveit by 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the second round to book her place in the third. Notably, Williams who remained at the number 1 position for more than 350 weeks now ranks outside of the top 600 as she did not take part in any tournaments for a couple of years.
