The 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will retire from tennis at the end of this season. The Spaniard has barely played over the past two seasons because of injuries.

“Hello everyone, I am here to let you know I am retiring from professional tennis,” said Nadal in Spanish in a video posted on X. “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.

“It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make, but in this life, everything has a beginning and an end, and I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

Nadal leaves as the second-most successful men's singles player of all time, behind only long-time rival Novak Djokovic.