Rafael Nadal’s last tennis farewell at the Davis Cup Finals?

The last dance of Rafael Nadal’s tennis career: could it be in the courts of Malaga, for the Davis Cup final? The teams that will participate in the Final 8 scheduled from November 19 to 24 in the Spanish city have been officially announced and from the names chosen by the captain David Ferrerand then there’s the legendary winner of 22 Grand Slam titles.

Spain, the host of the event, will try to use the warmth of their fans to win the seventh title in their history and for that they could count on Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard is included in the list of players called up to face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

The 14-time Roland Garros winner, who has a record of 37 wins and 5 losses in the event and has triumphed five times, was chosen by his former teammate Ferrer despite the fact that he has not been on court since July 21 and his appearances this year have been quite limited.

Rafael Nadal has been included in Spain’s squad for the Davis Cup Final Eight in November 🙌🇪🇸#BBCTennis photo.twitter.com/IeTq341AcD

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 23, 2024

Rafa will join Carlos Alcaraz and form a potentially incredible team, as Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreño and Marcel Granollers will be there, with Pedro Martinez and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina therefore ruled out.

In the quarterfinals, Spain will face the Dutch team, who qualified as second in the Bologna group with Italy. Paul Haarhuis, captain of the Dutch team, has chosen Tallon Griekspoor, Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong and Wesley Koolhof, who will fight to beat Ferrer’s team in their quest for their first Davis Cup title. It will certainly be a tough task to prevail against the hosts, one of the favorites for the final victory, but the Dutch performed well against the Italians and showed that they can make life difficult for anyone.

It is clear that Rafa does not yet take his presence in Malaga for grantedbut of course many wonder if the Davis Cup Finals could be the last event of the Spaniard’s extraordinary career. It is difficult to say, just as it is still difficult to understand whether Rafa will actually play in Malaga or not. The Spaniard has not definitively closed the door to a comeback in 2025, especially not for the tournaments in Rome and, of course, Roland Garros, but it is premature to make such a hypothesis.

🔴 Will Rafael Nadal return to the Davis Cup?

Rafa has not played on the tennis court in Paris since this summer, but has now been announced for the Spanish team for the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga! photo.twitter.com/z3Muznvprp

— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) September 23, 2024