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The King Of Clay Rafael Nadal Announces He Will Retire From Tennis At The End Of The Year

Julian Finney. Getty Images.

Always sad when sports legends from your life step away for the final time. Just another step in us getting old. You watch these guys as a kid and assume they're going to play forever. Everyone is invincible. Well, today Rafa Nadal announced that after the Davis Cup in November he'll be retiring from tennis. He put out this video to tell the world his decision. 

It's not a surprise by any means, just one you didn't want to hear. Nadal did whatever he could to play in some tournaments this year, but his body just isn't what it used to be. The same shit happened with Federer and his knee. It's depressing when these titans of sports can't walk away on their own terms. Rafa left the door open at a few events, including the French Open, that it wouldn't be farewell, but if you watched him on the court and knew his limited physical condition you got the hint. It was time. 

You really have to dig deep to name athletes in the world who were greater competitors than him in their arena. This man never took a single point off. He would run for days and never get tired. What he was able to do on clay is just about as dominant as anyone will ever be at anything. 112-4 career record at Roland Garros. One of the craziest stats in sports history. 

Now there's just one left of the original big 3. The other two shared their appreciation. Fed also throwing in a bunch of pics on his IG story remembering their time together. 

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Well, looks like I'll be more locked into the Davis Cup than ever before. It's basically the world cup of tennis and is very fun to watch. Rafa saying goodbye while playing for his country will be something. 

P.S. French tennis player couldn't possibly pick a worse day to also retire. TOUGH to hang em' up and then get upstaged by Rafa a few hours later.