Iga Swiatek described Rafael Nadal as her “biggest inspiration” in a classy message shared online after the Spaniard announced his impending retirement from tennis.
Nadal announced on Thursday that he would call time on his career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month, ending a career that has seen him win 22 Grand Slam titles and spend 209 weeks as world No 1.
Players past and present have paid tribute to the Spaniard since the announcement was made, and now current WTA world No 1 Swiatek has shared her own message.
The Pole has previously described the 38-year-old as her idol, and in a message shared on Instagram she revealed she wanted to share her “appreciation” for a player that helped her get “extra motivated”.
She said: “Hi Rafa, because of your announcement today I think this is going to be a really special day for every tennis fan.
“I just wanted to speak about my appreciation and what your career meant to me, because you are the biggest inspiration I ever had in tennis, and the reason why sometimes I got extra motivated – I 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, when you see other athletes succeeding.
“You’re the one who’s always honest to himself, so thank you for being a really good person, and I hope you’re going to enjoy the other part of your life.
“Hopefully you’ll have some other career because the sky is the limit for you now and I really hope you’re going to spend a lot of time with your close ones and your family.
Swiatek has followed in Nadal’s footsteps by becoming a world No 1 and winning multiple Grand Slam titles – also finding particular success at Roland Garros.
Four of Swiatek’s five Slams have come at the French Open, with the Pole winning the title for three straight years.
Nadal famously won the men’s singles title 14 times – a record for any tournament in the men’s game – and won 112 of his 116 matches at the tournament.
Speculation had grown in recent months about when he would officially retire after being plagued by physical struggles across the past two years.
In his message yesterday, he revealed it was a “difficult decision”, but that he felt ready to call time on an extraordinary career.
He said: “Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two years especially.
“I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.
“But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.
