WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek paid tribute to her “biggest inspiration” and 22-time Grand Slam title champion Rafael Nadal after the big retirement announcement. On Thursday, Nadal posted a video on his official social media handle, biding goodbye to professional tennis after the Davis Cup knockout stage.
Many tennis stars, including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka, and Roger Federer, paid their tribute. However, one particular message captured the attention of the tennis industry.
As per the Queen of Clay, Nadal (also known as the King of Clay) has been her biggest inspiration and has helped motivate and push her to the greater position. For the uninitiated, Nadal has won Roland Garros a record 14 times, while Iga Swiatek is a 4-time champion. Swiatek’s respect for Nadal is not new; the World No. 1 has often talked about how he is her idol, and she followed in his footsteps as a teenager.
Swiatek said, “You were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis and the reason why sometimes I got extra motivated and kept pushing myself. Thank you for that, and thank you for being such an amazing person off the court as well. Your humility is something that is not so often [seen] when you see other athletes succeeding.“
Continuing further, she added, “I hope you’re going to enjoy the other part of your life and hopefully maybe some other career, because the sky is the limit for you now, and I hope you will spend a lot of time with your close ones and your family.”
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff pens heartfelt note for retiring Rafael Nadal
Interestingly enough, Swiatek was not the only WTA star to bid farewell to Nadal with kind words. Aryna Sabalenka (the current World No. 2) also described the 22-time Grand Slam champion as an “inspiration for everyone” post his retirement announcement video on social media.
She said, “He’s inspiration for all of us, for the next generation, for current players—he’s a legend. As he said actually there, everything has the beginning and the end. We’re all going to be there. I’m really happy for what he was able to achieve. He was an inspiration for everyone. He’s a hard worker. He definitely had so much love for this sport.”
Young sensation Coco Gauff also penned down a heartfelt note for the 38-year-old. As per the 2023 US Open champion, Nadal is much more than the numerous titles he has won in his career.
She said, “Obviously, I’m a fan of him. I know we’re technically like co-workers, but I’m a fan. How he treated me as a fan is something I remember more than his wins, more than the things he did. I would like my legacy to look like that. You can win the amount of trophies and everything, but people remember who you are and how you made them feel.”