The tennis career of arguably the greatest clay-court player Rafael Nadal may well be over, after being beaten by fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round at the 2024 French Open.
The 6-3, 7-6(7/5), 6-3 loss was only the second time since 2005 that Nadal lost a match at Roland Garros before the quarterfinals.
In front of 15,000 fans, the 14-time clay champion waved goodbye to fans, after saying he is likely to retire at the end of 2024.
"If it's the last time that I played here, I am at peace with myself," Nadal said.
Nadal's incredible clay record stretches across two decades when he burst onto the scene in 2005, claiming victory against Argentinian Mariano Puerta in four sets.
Across a period between 2005-2014, the left-hander won 9 out of 10 French Open titles, while backing up his incredible success with another five between 2017 to 2022.
In a miraculous show of dominance, Nadal has never been taken to five sets during a French Open final.
However, his most recent outing at his favoured Grand Slam yielded his worst result at age 37, exiting in the opening round of the tournament.
The loss to Zverev on Day 2 of the French Open beat his lowest his previous record of being beaten in Round 4 by Robin Sรถderling in 2009 (Nadal withdrew in 2016 ahead of his Round 3 matchup with Marcel Granollers).
It is also the first time in his long career that Nadal has lost two consecutive matches on a clay court, losing to Hubert Hurkacz at the Italian Open on May 11.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion winner (only behind Novak Djokovic's 24) admitted it was doubtful he will enter Wimbledon, with an eye on the Paris Olympics, which will showcase tennis at the French Open site.
Hip and abdominal injuries have limited Nadal's ability to play at a level fans have become accustomed to.
"The last two years I have been going through probably the toughest process in my tennis career with the dream to come back here and at least I did," Nadal said.
Rafael Nadal's French Open record
| Result | Year | Title | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 2005 | 1 | Mariano Puerta | 6โ7(6โ8), 6โ3, 6โ1, 7โ5 |
| Win | 2006 | 2 | Roger Federer | 1โ6, 6โ1, 6โ4, 7โ6(7โ4) |
| Win | 2007 | 3 | Roger Federer | 6โ3, 4โ6, 6โ3, 6โ4 |
| Win | 2008 | 4 | Roger Federer | 6โ1, 6โ3, 6โ0 |
| Round 4 | 2009 | Robin Sรถderling | 2โ6, 7โ6(7โ2), 4โ6, 6โ7(2โ7) | |
| Win | 2010 | 5 | Robin Sรถderling | 6โ4, 6โ2, 6โ4 |
| Win | 2011 | 6 | Roger Federer | 7โ5, 7โ6(7โ3), 5โ7, 6โ1 |
| Win | 2012 | 7 | Novak Djokovic | 6โ4, 6โ3, 2โ6, 7โ5 |
| Win | 2013 | 8 | David Ferrer | 6โ3, 6โ2, 6โ3 |
| Win | 2014 | 9 | Novak Djokovic | 3โ6, 7โ5, 6โ2, 6โ4 |
| QF | 2015 | Novak Djokovic | 5โ7, 3โ6, 1โ6 | |
| Round 3 | 2016 | Marcel Granollers | Withdrew | |
| Win | 2017 | 10 | Stan Wawrinka | 6โ2, 6โ3, 6โ1 |
| Win | 2018 | 11 | Dominic Thiem | 6โ4, 6โ3, 6โ2 |
| Win | 2019 | 12 | Dominic Thiem | 6โ3, 5โ7, 6โ1, 6โ1 |
| Win | 2020 | 13 | Novak Djokovic | 6โ0, 6โ2, 7โ5 |
| SF | 2021 | Novak Djokovic | 6โ3, 3โ6, 6โ7(4โ7), 2โ6 | |
| Win | 2022 | 14 | Casper Ruud | 6โ3, 6โ3, 6โ0 |
| DNP | 2023 | |||
| Round 1 | 2024 | Alexander Zverev | 3-6, 5-7(5โ7), 3-6 |
