Rafael Nadal’s career is full of titles, rivalries and injuries

Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from tennis on Thursday, marking the end of a career that spanned two decades and 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 on his favorite clay court at Roland Garros, and 92 singles titles in total.

Here are the wins, losses, rivalries and injuries that have marked the 38-year-old Spaniard’s career:

2002

At 15 years, 10 months, he won his first ATP match in Mallorca.

2003

He reached the third round on debut at Wimbledon aged 17, the youngest man to reach that far at the All England Club since Boris Becker was 16 in 1984.

2004

Blessed then-No. 1 Roger Federer in Miami. Won first ATP title in Sopot, Poland on clay. He defeated Andy Roddick to help Spain lead the United States and win the Davis Cup.

2005

Won title at French Open debut; The year’s 11 trophies were the most in one season for a teenager in ATP history. It moved into the top 10 in April; it remained there until 2023. It finished the year in second place.

2006

He won his second French Open title, beating Federer in the final, before losing the rematch in the Wimbledon final. Clay court hitting streak stretched to 62 games.

2007

His third straight French Open title came with another win over Federer, and once again Federer beat him in the Wimbledon final. Clay’s winning streak reached 81 matches before the loss to Federer in Hamburg, Germany.

2008

Beat Federer in Roland Garros final for fourth consecutive trophy there; first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 with such a long streak in Paris, and first since Borg to win the title without dropping a set. He met Federer in the final at the All England Club, but this time he won 9-7 in the fifth set in fading light. He won gold at the Beijing Olympics; he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the US Open. Finished the year at No. 1. He dealt with tendinitis in his right knee.

2009

He won his first Australian Open title, defeating Federer in a five-set final, after overcoming Fernando Verdasco in a five-set semifinal. His 31-match unbeaten run at the French Open ended with a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling. Nadal struggled with tendinitis in his knee and sat out Wimbledon. Dealing with an abdominal problem, he reached the semifinals of the US Open before losing to champion Juan Martín del Potro.

2010

He stopped during the quarter-finals of the Australian Open due to a right knee injury, but returned to his best form at the French Open, winning his fifth title in Paris and not lost no set, beating Soderling in the final. He won Wimbledon for the second time and then completed the Grand Slam of his career by beating Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. It ends the year in the number 1 spot.

2011

He hurt his left leg muscle at the Australian Open but was fine for the French Open and tied Borg’s men’s career mark with a sixth championship, beating Federer in the final. Nadal lost seven of 10 finals that season, with six of those setbacks coming against Djokovic, including at Wimbledon and the US Open.

2012

He beat Djokovic for his seventh French Open title. At Wimbledon, he lost to Lukas Rosol in the second round while being hampered by a left knee problem that kept him out for the rest of the season.

2013

After seven months off the tour because of his left knee and a stomach virus, he put together a 10-title season that put him back at No. 1. He won his eighth French Open and second in the US Open (beating Djokovic in the final), bringing his Grand Slam total to 13, behind only Pete Sampras (14) and Federer (17).

2014

He tied with Sampras in adding his 9th French Open title, beating Djokovic in the final. He lost to 144th-ranked Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round at Wimbledon, then missed three months with a bad right wrist. After returning, he sat out two events due to appendicitis.

2015

He lost to Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open; he retired at that stage or earlier in three other majors, ending his 10-year career with at least one Grand Slam trophy.

2016

For the first time since 2004, he did not reach any Grand Slam quarterfinals. Loses in first round of Australian Open; withdrew from the French Open before the third round due to a left wrist injury and was sidelined for months.

2017

After losing the Australian Open final in five sets to Federer, he returned to dominance at the French Open, dropping 35 games in seven matches en route to his 10th title, beating Stan Wawrinka in the end He added his third US Open trophy (his 16th major moved him within one of Federer) and finished at No. 1 in the rankings for the fourth time.

2018

He won the 11th championship at Roland Garros. He missed two Grand Slam matches elsewhere due to injury and missed other tournaments with knee, hip and abdominal problems.

2019

French Open title No. 12 and US Open title No. 4 followed, as well as a return to No. 1 at the age of 33. He lost to Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open, to Federer in the semifinals of Wimbledon. He had problems in his thigh, knee, left hand and abdomen at various points.

2020

He tied Federer with 20 Slam trophies with a 13th French Open title, defeating Djokovic in the final. He won multiple titles in one season for the 16th year in a row.

2021

He won in straight sets against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, then lost to Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open. He played in only two games the rest of the year due to chronic pain in his left foot.

2022

He became the sole holder of the record for most Grand Slam singles titles, one ahead of Federer, by claiming No. 21 at the Australian Open, and came back to beat Daniil Medvedev after losing the first two sets. He was seeded 22 at the French Open, where he overcame what he said was debilitating pain in his left foot to lift the trophy for the 14th time by beating Casper Ruud in the final. That made Nadal, at 36, the oldest champion in the tournament’s history and improved his career record at the clay-court major to 112-3. He withdrew from Wimbledon before the semi-finals due to a torn abdominal muscle; lost in the fourth round of the US Open to Frances Tiafoe.

2023

He lost in the second round of the Australian Open to Mackie McDonald while dealing with a left hip flexor injury. It is Nadal’s first loss at a Grand Slam in seven years. He didn’t play the rest of the year and had hip surgery in June.

2024

Nadal gave it one last spin. But he missed three Grand Slam tournaments and endured a losing streak. He earned a tough draw at his beloved French Open and lost in the first round to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev. At the Paris Olympics, played at Roland Garros, Nadal was eliminated by Djokovic in the second round of singles, then retired in the doubles quarterfinals alongside Carlos Alcaraz. On October 10, Nadal announced that his final professional appearance will be competing for Spain in the Davis Cup. Spain will open the match on November 19 in Malaga, Spain.

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP tennis writer since 2002. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich

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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports