He also spent his entire career battling his own body, with Nadal’s injuries both acute and chronic carving the trajectory of his career and to an extent the way he played tennis. King of clay. Warrior.

Rafael Nadal officially retired from professional tennis on Tuesday, November 19, after Spain was eliminated by Netherlands on Day 1 of the Davis Cup Finals. The 22-time Grand Slam champion dreamed of finishing in style in Malaga, but nothing went in the right direction.

In the years that followed, Nadal worked to improve his all-court game and his serve, and his results away from clay improved. He missed the Australian Open in 2006 but won his second Roland Garros title before reaching that year’s Wimbledon final and U.S. Open quarters. Roger Federer schooled him on Centre Court, winning the first set 6-0.

The muscular, left-handed Spaniard, who retired Tuesday with 22 major victories, was a thrilling one-off.