Serena Williams Sends Heartfelt Message to Tennis Icon Rafael Nadal After Retirement

She offered the fellow tennis retiree warm congratulations following his last competitive match.

Serena Williams / Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

If anyone understands the feeling of retiring from a legendary sports career, it’s Serena Williams. When she retired from competitive tennis in 2022, the now 43-year-old had 23 Grand Slams to her name (one fewer than the most won by any professional women’s player in the history of the sport), 73 career titles and over two decades of professional play under her belt.

Tennis had been a lifelong ambition for the iconic athlete, and she took her game to the greatest heights while active on the WTA Tour. Without that sort of history, it’s hard to understand the feeling of hanging up a racket or putting away a jersey for the final time. All of which is to say, most people can’t relate to Rafael Nadal right now, but Williams certainly can.

The legendary men’s tennis player has officially retired from competitive play. On Nov. 20, the Spain native played his last competitive tennis match, losing to the Netherlands alongside his teammate in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup. Much like Williams, Nadal holds the second-highest number of Grand Slam titles in men’s tennis—with 22 to his name, he sits two back from Novak Djokovic. And that’s only the start of the 23 years’s worth of accomplishments.

Understanding the emotions far better than anyone else ever could, Williams put her “Rafa gear” on (a Nadal T-shirt and a replica of his signature headband) and took to Instagram to share a heartfelt message with the new retiree. “We’re gonna always love you, we’re gonna always miss you,” she voiced in the clip. “But let’s go. This isn’t a retirement, right? You’re moving on.”

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But the real substance of her message—the emotions—came out in the caption. “@rafaelnadal Congratulations on a career that most wont dare to dream of,” she wrote. “I feel so fortunate to have been able to play when you were playing and being Great. You inspired me to be better, to play harder, for fight, to never give up, and to win more. No excuses just play the sport. Your legacy will never die. Wow to see your career from the beginning to today was an honor Champ! Long live Rafa!”

It was a fitting message from one retired Nike tennis player to another. Much like Williams, we can’t wait to see where the 38-year-old goes in his retirement. If her retirement track record is any proof at all, we know he will continue to strive for greatness—and achieve it, too.