The tennis elite was anticipated to gather for Rafael Nadal’s farewell from the Davis Cup in Malaga, yet they were noticeably absent during his final match. Nadal’s notable rivals, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, had informed Davis Cup Tournament Director Feliciano Lopez of their intention to attend the Spanish legend’s farewell event. “Novak Djokovic has expressed his desire to be there, as has Andy Murray.
There are many others who wish to attend, and I’m uncertain if we’ll have enough seats for everyone,” Lopez stated. Roger Federer remained silent regarding his potential appearance, but many expected him to show up, especially since Nadal participated in his last doubles match at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
Ultimately, the remaining members of the Big Four, along with Nadal’s former coach Toni Nadal and other prominent figures in tennis, were missing from the Tuesday festivities in Malaga, which were attended only by the Spanish tennis community and Nadal’s closest family and friends at the Martin Carpena Arena.
His teammates from the Spain Davis Cup team—led by Carlos Alcaraz and captain David Ferrer—were always going to be part of the farewell, with his coach Carlos Moya also present on the bench for his final match. Nadal’s wife, Maria Francisca, and son, Rafa Nadal Junior, were joined by his parents, Ana Maria and Sebastia, and his sister, Maribel. Other long-standing members of his team—including coaches Marc Lopez and Gustavo Marcaccio, former coach Francis Roig, physio Rafa Maymo, nutritionist Nuria Granados, agent Carlos Costa, and press officer Benito Perez-Barbadillo—were also spotted in Malaga.
However, many top tennis stars did not attend the match, and the reason has come to light. As reported by the Spanish newspaper El Espanol, the farewell celebrations were originally scheduled for Friday, anticipating that Spain would advance to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup. Unfortunately, Spain lost the quarter-final 2-1 against the Netherlands on Tuesday, disrupting the planned festivities.
Djokovic, Murray, and Federer were only expected to arrive in Malaga on Friday morning, with the official ceremony slated for later that day, but Spain’s early exit thwarted the surprise for Nadal. Nonetheless, the trio contributed to a farewell video that was displayed on the arena’s big screen.
Toni Nadal, on the other hand, was unable to attend the match on Tuesday due to work obligations in Rome but suggested he would come to the venue later in the week if Spain progressed to the later stages of the Davis Cup. With Spain’s early elimination from the tournament, the planned farewell on Friday was canceled, and Nadal received his sendoff following the doubles defeat to the Netherlands.
