One of Rafael Nadal's biggest on-court rivals is wishing him well into retirement. Novak Djokovic took to social media Thursday to offer his "respect"

The Swiss tennis player paid tribute to Rafa Nadal after he announced his retirement, both men having one of the great rivalries.

The following is Rafa Nadal's retirement statement in which the 22-times Grand Slam champion said on Thursday that he would end his career at the Davis Cup next month: "Hello everybody. I'm here to tell you that I'm retiring from professional tennis.

Novak Djokovic paid respects to his former rival Rafael Nadal after he decided to retire at the end of the current season.

Another piece of tennis history is ready to farewell: Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from all of them at the end of the season. The Spanish champion will only play the Davis Cup Finals scheduled in Malaga in November before officially saying goodbye to tennis.

Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire from tennis next month with a video on social media. The clip, which lasts a total of four minutes and fourtyfive seconds, sees the Spaniard overcome with emotion as he declares that he has been forced to make the tough decision to bow out from the sport.

Spain's Rafa Nadal, who won 22-grand slam singles title, said on Thursday he was putting an end to his professional tennis career, a decision effective after the Davis Cup final."It has been some difficult years,

Rafael Nadal’s tennis career will be remembered because of the numbers, yes — the 14 French Open trophies, the 22 Grand Slam titles overall, the nearly two decades in the top 10, and so on — and, without a doubt,

Mackenzie Salmon looks at the career of Rafael Nadal and his sheer dominance on the clay courts at the French Open.

The sports world reacts to 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal announcing he will retire from tennis after next month’s Davis Cup finals