Rafael Nadal has revealed that he is retiring because his body is no longer strong enough to cope with the physical demands of playing at the highest level.

The veteran Spaniard will bring the curtain down on his glittering career after representing Spain at the upcoming Davis Cup Finals. He will be desperate to bow out on a positive note before he calls it a day after more than two decades.

Nadal has struggled with injuries over the last few years and continues to battle fitness issues to this day. He has not played a competitive match since the Olympics in order to save himself from any further setbacks.

In a press conference ahead of the Davis Cup Finals, Nadal suggested that his declining physical condition was essentially forcing him into retirement.

“It doesn’t make sense for me to continue playing when I’m fully aware that my body doesn’t let me fight for the competitive goals that motivate me,” he said.

“I’m not burned out on tennis. If I could, I would keep playing, but it’s impossible for me to train with the continuity necessary to compete at a level that compensates for the efforts of everyday life.

“I said a little over a year ago that I didn’t deserve to say goodbye at a press conference and that I wanted to give myself a chance to come back. I have done so and things have not gone as I expected.

“The truth is that since I had the injury in Australia in 2023, I have not played freely again. I had surgery, they had to remove part of my iliac psoas and, from that moment on, it was impossible to play without limitations, only at specific times.

“My body does not give me the necessary margin to do training and competition windows as I would like.”

Nadal’s first match at the Davis Cup Finals will be on Tuesday, with Spain taking on the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. If they progress, they will face either Germany or Canada in the last four.

It will certainly be an emotional week for Nadal, who will become the third member of the Big Four to retire after Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

“I don’t know how I will feel,” he said. “I am not here to retire. I am here to help the team. The emotion is going to be for the end. Before and during it is about focusing on what we need to do.”