Rafael Nadal announces his retirement | Fox Sports News |

22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from professional tennis. The 38-year-old will make his final appearance in November at the Davis Cup Finals. After struggling with various injuries, the Spaniard finally caught time on one of the most dominant careers in the sport, announcing his decision on social media. Hello everyone, I'm here to let you know that I'm retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. Nadal is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to step foot on a tennis court. The 38-year-old leaves the sport having won 22 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals. He holds the record with 14 French Open victories, a tournament he dominated unlike any other player in the sports history. In 2004, an 18-year-old stepped on the court in the Davis Cup Final in front of a then world record crowd. Unknown to most in the tennis world, Rafael Nadal was picked ahead of Juan Carlos Ferreiro to take on American Andy Roddick, a decision that unleashed a star to the world. The island of Mallorca already had a tennis star in Carlos Moya, but this one was different. Nadal began playing at age four under the tutelage of Uncle Tony, although early on it was another uncle in three-time World Cup footballer Miguel Angel who he wanted to follow. His decision to pursue tennis didn't take long to pay off. Australians were given a glimpse of things to come in 2005 when Nadal pushed Leighton Hewitt to five sets at Melbourne Park. His next slam appearance was the French Open, where he won on debut, still a teenager. The following year brought to life one of sports greatest rivalries. Nadal and Roger Federer met five times in finals in 2006. Nadal took honours at Roland Garros, Federer at Wimbledon. It was a trend that continued the following year and it required one of the greatest matches of all time to break it. The 2008 Wimbledon final is well entrenched in the history books. Four hours and 48 minutes, the longest decider at the All England Club, finishing 9-7 in the fifth. An Olympic gold medal in Beijing followed and his first of five year-end number one rankings. Before then there were more slams. His first Australian Open title in 2009, again over Federer in five sets. But a strange thing happened that year. Nadal lost at Roland Garros. Robin Söderling would be one of only two men to beat the King of Clay at the French Open. Perhaps it motivated Nadal. In 2010 he was near unbeatable, the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three straight majors, culminating with a career grand slam at the US Open. Like Nadal had done to Federer, a kid called Novak emerged to challenge the status quo. Nadal lost Wimbledon and the US Open finals to Djokovic in 2011, along with the number one ranking. They met again at the Australian Open the next year in the longest ever slam final, lasting nearly six hours. Nadal had his revenge at the French before a knee injury ruined the rest of his year. Fighting his body would prove just as challenging as opponents. Wrist, foot and ankle concerns would plague his career. Still he defied the odds and kept winning slams. Now having this trophy with me eight times is just fantastic. Djokovic eventually found the formula to beat Nadal at Roland Garros in 2015, although it only delayed his dominance. In total Nadal would win the French Open 14 times, a record unlikely to ever be beaten. His victory over Djokovic in 2020 brought the big three together like never before, equal on 20 grand slam trophies until Nadal broke the deadlock. It's 21 for Rafa and he stands alone at the summit of men's tennis. Where else but Paris for his last major title, the city of love, proving long lasting for the 36 year old. It's a historic 14th roll. Jeff Smith, Fox Sports News.