Spain sour with Rafa's "shabby" send-off
Spaniards say Nadal's farewell ceremony was unfitting for its greatest athlete.
Rafa Nadal’s illustrious career came to a bittersweet end at the Davis Cup in Málaga, yet the farewell left many feeling it was an unfitting tribute to Spain’s greatest athlete.
Nadal’s coach Carlos Moyá described the ceremony as “cutre” (shabby), Galician writer Manuel Jabois said it was “chunga” (cheap), and according to Spain’s Davis Cup captain David Ferrer, it was "descafeinado" (underwhelming, lacking essence and energy). The retirement ceremony, alas, struck an off-note for fans, commentators, and even Nadal’s close circle.
The public discontent was clear, with a Change.org petition demanding a proper tribute already amassing nearly 13,000 signatures.
No good at goodbyes
Spain assumed and failed to prepare.
The Davis Cup was meant to be Nadal’s last dance in the gentle Andalusian winter sun. Organizers assumed Spain would at least make Friday’s semifinals, giving them scope to arrange a grand farewell. Instead, the Tuesday night loss to Botic van de Zandschulp effectively sealed Spain’s fate - and Rafa’s.
Suddenly it dawned upon the crowd that a laboured backhand into the net could have been Nadal’s last shot.
“Was that it? We’re not going to see him compete again?” Tennis journalists asked themselves as reality began to set in.
As Tuesday night became Wednesday morning, Spain’s defeat in doubles confirmed that Nadal’s career was over. No more impossible comebacks. No more winning through pain. No more champagne by the Champs-Elysee.
No more VAMOS RAFA!
Organisers quickly rolled out the impromptu ceremony. Fans and players who had expected to bid farewell later in the week were caught off guard. The planned appearances of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Pau Gasol were canceled. In the end, a hastily organized tribute took place in front of a subdued and weary crowd after midnight.
"His family was in the stands, although the man who shaped him was notably absent,” said El País. Rafa’s uncle and long-time coach Toni was unable to attend due to work commitments.
Alejandro Ciriza from El País captured the general mood in the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena: “Spain's unexpected defeat meant that the tribute had to be brought forward to the small hours of a strange Tuesday night, with people thinking about going home.”
The disappointment was palpable. As La Vanguardia’s Sergio Heredia noted, everyone expected Nadal to exit through the “puerta grande” - a bullfighting term that symbolizes a glorious exit after a valiant performance. Instead, he departed in the quiet and awkward aftermath of an unexpected elimination. “Everyone thought that there would be a fitting tribute to the Spaniard instead of a rushed act in front of a disenchanted public eager to go home, people who had to get up for work the following morning like everyone else.”
“Maybe half 12 on a Tuesday night wasn’t the best time for it,” said Carlos Maya.
With modern technology and bottomless media libraries, it’s pretty hard to make a bad tribute video, especially for a sporting legend with as many magical moments as Rafa Nadal. However, Manuel Jabois likened it to “something you’d see for a guy celebrating his 28th birthday.”
The night was, as many agreed, a glaringly inadequate homage to a player who has transcended tennis, becoming a symbol of determination, perseverance, and excellence.
On El Larguero, Spain’s biggest night time sports radio show, host Manu Carreño asked Toni Nadal whether the ceremony “a la altura”, fitting for the magnitude of the moment. His “no” and theatrically disdainful snigger said it all.
In the build up to the Davis Cup, Nadal appeared philosophical about the situation. “There are no ideal farewells. Happy endings are for American movies.”
Nadal had chosen the Davis Cup for his retirement knowing full well the risks.
“In the end, Nadal's desire to finish at the Davis Cup didn’t make things any easier,” wrote Alejandro Ciriza in El País while citing the peculiarities of a tournament “in which victories can degenerate into eliminations and defeats into advances.”
Unlike his friend Roger Federer, who bowed out in an emotional farewell at the Laver Cup surrounded by peers (including a blubbering Rafa), Nadal chose to live and die by the sword - a career-long hallmark of his relentless spirit.
“You never want this moment to come,” Nadal said at the start of his farewell speech. “I'm not tired of playing tennis, but my body doesn't want to play anymore and you have to accept it. I feel very privileged, I have been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time. I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I've lost my last - it’s come full circle.”
Spain united
Despite the underwhelming farewell, Nadal’s impact on tennis and sports is indisputable.
His career will be remembered as one of unmatched determination and passion. He battled Muller-Weiss syndrome since 2005 and fought back from countless injuries to be world number one in his sport in three different decades.
“Who is going to enthrall us with impossible comebacks with things we have never seen before? Who is going to make us feel like we are great, the best in the world?” asked Marca’s Jesús Sánchez. “Who will turn Paris into a part of Spain? Who is going to transmit emotions and strength, heart and passion, fighting spirit and energy through his play?’
The sentiments in Madrid were echoed in Catalonia: “We will miss his determination, perseverance, and passion for, besides being his hobby, was his job,” wrote David Botti in Sport. “We will miss his finals on pulsating Sunday evenings in Paris, Rome, Madrid.”
Rafa Nadal’s retirement may not have had the grandeur fans hoped for, but it marked the end of an era. As El País poignantly noted, from now on, time in Spanish sport will be measured as "before, during, and after Rafa Nadal."
The subdued ceremony did not reflect the magnitude of his legacy, but Nadal’s greatness never relied on glitz and glamour, but rather on grit and glory.
“There are athletes who become legends within their disciplines. Others transcend their sport entirely. And a select few, through their actions and character, become role models for society,” his uncle Toni wrote in El País.
There are few things that unite all of Spain. For twenty years, Rafa Nadal has been one. For his resilience and integrity, his humbleness and ferocious spirit to keep going con dos cojones until the final bell.
For now, as the kid who started off at the Club de Tenis de Manacor prepares for his next chapter, Spain - and the rest of us sports fans - must say adiós to a great.