The 2024 Davis Cup Finals will mark the end of an era. After years of glorifying the sport with his performances, Rafael Nadal will bid adieu to the sport after the event. The Spaniard has been a victim of injuries toward the fag end of his career and felt that the time had come for him to hang his boots. However, Nadal isn’t set to leave tennis without a bang as the Davis Cup will arrange a special farewell for the Spanish legend. While this was an interesting event in the lead-up to Nadal’s retirement, the tournament’s director, Feliciano Lopez, expressed a possible concern regarding the special farewell arranged for Nadal.

Last month, Nadal was included in Spain’s squad for the Davis Cup Finals. Interestingly, the tournament will be played in Nadal’s native country, Spain. Thus, with a massive crowd expected for the tournament, Lopez believes that there will be a host of Nadal’s fellow players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray who will also be keen to attend Nadal’s special farewell.

Talking about the possible problems that will be faced by the authorities, Lopez cited, “I know almost everyone wants to be present at his farewell… Novak Djokovic posted on Instagram that he wishes to attend, as well… I don’t know if there will be enough spots for everyone, but as you can imagine, all the tennis players who have played in his era want to be there.”

Earlier, Lopez said that a special ceremony is planned for Nadal, he didn’t reveal any details about it, calling it ‘confidential’. Nonetheless, it will be something that celebrates Nadal’s journey in his career and the legacy that he will leave behind. Further, Lopez admitted that the spotlight won’t lift from the Davis Cup Finals despite Nadal garnering all the attention.

While Nadal’s fellow athletes will be lining up to attend the ceremony, there is one special person for Nadal who is set to skip his emotional farewell. It is none other than Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal.

Why will Rafael Nadal’s uncle skip the Davis Cup Finals?

Toni Nadal has played an instrumental role in Nadal’s career and was also his long-time coach. Under Toni, Nadal won a host of big titles, including the Grand Slams. While the two remained close even after their separation on the professional front, Toni is set to miss Nadal’s farewell at the Davis Cup Finals.

Citing reasons for the same, Toni Nadal revealed, “I knew that at one time or another that day of final retirement would come. Knowing that we will never see him in a competition again, the emotion will be there, but I have been getting used to the idea for some time now. I will miss it because I have work in those days and I have to be in Rome.”

Nonetheless, Toni admitted that Nadal has been training at a very high level and is raring to go at the Davis Cup Finals. Spain will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the tournament.