Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem to retire from ATP Tour at end of 2024 season
Best of 2024
Nadal and Thiem will retire at the end of the 2024 season
Read Part 2 of our “Best” Retirement Feature of 2024
December 8, 2024
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Rafael Nadal retired from professional tennis in November.
Written by ATP Staff
To mark the end of another exciting season, ATPTour.com launches our annual “Best of” series, which will reflect the most interesting rivalries, games, comebacks, upsets and more. Icons Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem headline the second part of our ‘best’ retirement stories, while Andy Murray appears in the first.
Rafael Nadal
It was a farewell ceremony for the Spaniard, not just for a national hero, not just for a tennis icon, but for a sporting legend. Nadal played his last professional match, the Davis Cup quarterfinals, in November. Wiped away tears.
Nadal has one of the best ever matches on the ATP Tour and his last match was a singles win over Dutchman Botik van der Zande Schulp. In the loud melody of Spanish chants such as “Vamos Rafa!”, Nadal drew the final end to his career and fought with all his strength to the end.
“It was an exciting day,” Nadal said after the final match. “I knew this could be my last match as a professional tennis player. Overall, the moments leading up to this were emotional and a little difficult to process. So many emotions. I tried to do my best.
Nadal’s sportsmanship and grace in victory and defeat have endeared him to fans around the world. This humility was on display again when Nadal said in his farewell speech: “I am the one who should be grateful… to so many people that it is difficult to know where to begin.”
There are no words to express my gratitude for everything you have done for this sport.
Thanks Rafa❤️@rafaelnadal | #rafasiimpre
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 19, 2024
Nadal’s two-decade career has been defined by superior athletic skills and relentless determination. He set benchmarks that can never be surpassed, including a remarkable record of 14 French Open titles. He spent 209 weeks at the top of the PIF ATP rankings, winning 1,080 matches and a whopping 92 tour-level titles.
Many of Nadal’s records seem likely to stand forever. He won the ATP Tour title for a record 19 consecutive seasons (2004-22) and won a record 23 matches against world No. 1s. He spent a record 912 consecutive weeks in the top 10 (2005-23). Nadal has a record 410 wins and the second-most titles (36) at ATP Masters 1000 events.
The Spaniard became the first male player in history to complete the career Grand Slam twice. He also won two Olympic gold medals (singles in Beijing in 2008 and doubles with Lopez in Rio in 2016) and helped Spain win the Davis Cup four times.
“I think as a tennis player, I just want people to remember me for what I achieved. As a person, I want people to remember me as a positive example of respect, politeness and a good person,” Nadal said earlier this year said. Read Nadal’s lengthy tribute.
Dominic Thiem
Thiem’s home tournament, the First Bank Vienna Open, was buzzing as the Austrian tennis hero bid farewell to the sport.
“When I look back on my career, the main emotion is just feeling so grateful for everything I’ve experienced,” Tim said. “I’m lucky to stay healthy [most of] It was time to be able to achieve basically all of my dreams. Yes, I never expected such a career when I was young. I just want to be a professional tennis player, no matter what comes with that.
The 31-year-old won the 2020 US Open and reached the finals of three other Grand Slams. Thiem won a total of 17 tour-level titles, achieved a career-high PIF ATP ranking of No. 3, and remained in the top ten for the better part of six years.
Thiem has achieved such success during arguably tennis’ most difficult era, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic not relinquishing their status at the top of the sport. The only player with a better Lexus ATP Head2Head record than Thiem in matches against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is… the Big Three themselves.
One of Thiem’s key wins came against Federer in Indian Wells in 2019. But the Austrian found his groove and won his biggest title at the time. This is Thiem’s only 1,000-match victory at the ATP Masters.
Thiem sealed his win at the 2020 US Open with a two-set comeback win over Alexander Zverev. The Austrian player fought back and defeated the German player 7-6 in a tense fifth set. The atmosphere inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium was eerie as the final took place at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and the entire tournament was played without fans present. There’s no raucous crowd to help turn tension into energy. Instead, it was a nail-biting game in which Thiem won one of the biggest moments of his career. Read Tim’s lengthy tribute.
Wesley Kuhoff
Koolkhov knows what it’s like to be at the top of the PIF ATP Doubles Ranking and to be crowned champion at some of the sport’s biggest tournaments. The Dutchman has won six ATP Masters 1000 titles (three each with Nikola Mektic and Neil Skupski) and the 2023 Wimbledon trophy (with Skupski) together with Pusky).
Koolhof has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals four times and won the season final with Mektic in 2020. He represented his country in the Davis Cup for the last time before officially retiring.
“I don’t know what will happen next, but after taking some time off I would love to stay in tennis,” Koukhov said. “In this world you meet a lot of people and tennis has always been a part of my life…I’m just going to wait and see what’s going to happen and you’ll see me somewhere.” Read Koukhov’s “My View” article.
Pablo Cuevas
Cuevas is the highest-ranked Uruguayan of all time (No. 19 in 2016) and his compilation film of hot shots is enough to take on any player. He’s a flashy shot who hits the ball cleanly, as evidenced by his six Tour-level titles. En route to winning the 2016 title in Rio de Janeiro, Cuevas defeated Rafael Nadal in three sets in the semifinals, the Uruguayan’s second of three wins against top-5 players.
Cuevas, who announced his retirement in September, also won nine doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open with Louis Horner. He has lifted two ATP Masters 1000 doubles trophies: in Rome in 2015 with David Marrero and in Monte Carlo in 2017 with Rohan Bopanna.
“When I was a boy, I had no idea what it meant to be a tennis player and I had no ranking in mind that I wanted to achieve, I just wanted it to be my job,” Cuevas said. “Then it becomes more important, being in the top 100, being in the top 50, winning races, but it’s always more important than the numbers… It’s something I love doing and I’m able to have a lot of fun along the way.” Read Cuevas Retirement Topics.
Philip Krajinovich
Krajinovic fought back tears during her final match in qualifying for the U.S. Open. The Serbian reached a career-high world ranking of 26th, played in five ATP Tour finals and defeated four top-10 opponents. The most notable career highlight for Krajinovic was reaching the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters final, his only championship match at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
“I’m very proud. I’m very proud of my career,” Krajinovich said. “The only thing that makes me a little sad is that I didn’t win the ATP Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem headline late-season retirements in 2024 | ATP Tour. I played five finals, five tough finals. This is the only thing I wanted but for some reason it didn’t happen. But everything else I sign [for] Because I think I play the way I want to play. I got very good results, the highest score was 26 points, and I’m really grateful. I left the field happy because I thought I did a good job. Read Krajinovich’s retirement feature.
donald young
In the final match of his career, Young partnered with WTA player Taylor Townsend to dream of reaching the U.S. Open Mixed Doubles final. The former PIF ATP Ranking No. 38 bid farewell to a career that saw him reach two tour-level finals. Born in Chicago, Young made a splash when he was ranked No. 1 in the junior division at just 15 years old.
The southpaw defeated the likes of Andy Murray, Gael Monfils and Tomas Berdych on the tour. He reached the fourth round of his hometown Grand Slam twice and faced every member of the “Big Three” at major events. Young will never forget his time on Tour.
“It changed the trajectory of my life, my family life,” Yang said. “I’m absolutely grateful and grateful to tennis for that.” Read the Young Retirement feature.
