MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal‘s relatively low-key retirement ceremony at the Davis Cup was defended by the head of the International Tennis Federation on Sunday as being dictated by the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s wishes.
“Rafa is an amazing player and has a legacy of tennis that he will leave behind, inspiring millions of players around the world to play tennis, to continue to play. We felt it was very important to listen to what Rafa wanted and how he wanted to be celebrated. That’s exactly what we did,” ITF president David Haggerty said at a closing news conference at the site of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup in southern Spain.
“We took his lead, and we delivered on that,” Haggerty added. “People can have whatever opinions they want of whether it was right or not, but to me, the most important thing was we delivered a ceremony that was what Rafa wanted — and being who he is, was a great evening, and it was much appreciated.”
Feliciano López, the former player who is the Davis Cup Finals tournament director, deflected a question about the way Nadal was feted after his team, Spain, was eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarterfinals Tuesday.
“We should focus, all of us, on the fact that Rafa chose Davis Cup to be the final tournament of his career instead of keep talking about his farewell ceremony,” López said. “Honestly, we did our best.”
A video tribute was played, with highlight videos from Nadal’s career and recorded messages from such current or former players as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams.
None of those contemporaries was on hand for the event.