Rafael Nadal repeated retirement message he said five years ago in past hint over future

insisted "everything has an end" five years ago in an eerily similar statement to the words he wrote when announcing his retirement last week. The tennis icon in November.

Nadal has decided to end a trophy-laden career at the age of 38. He follows fellow legends Roger Federer, Serena Williams and Andy Murray, who have all stepped away from the court in recent years.

But a resurfaced interview shows that Nadal was actually at peace with his future retirement as long ago as 2019. Back then, before winning his final two Grand Slams, the Spaniard said he accepted that his career had to end one day.

"I'm aware that everything has an end," Nadal told , a sentiment he then repeated in his retirement statement. "And when the end arrives, I'll be ready for it. I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about retiring at the end of my career.

"I just want to be happy and enjoy playing as much as possible, and when I retire, fortunately, there are many things in my life that will make me happy."

Nadal has struggled with fitness issues for the best part of two years. He missed almost the entire 2023 season and returned at the start of this year, but has not played since he competed for Spain at the Olympics.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion informed fans that he will play for the final time at the Davis Cup next month. He also plans to compete in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia over the next few days.

"The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially," Nadal wrote in an emotional statement to fans on social media. "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."

Loosely repeating the phrase he used five years before, he continued: "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."

The only Grand Slam Nadal competed in this year was the French Open. He earned the nickname 'The King of Clay' for his performances at Roland Garros and tennis' other clay court tournaments throughout his career.