Rafael Nadal’s illustrious 23-year-long journey came to an end on 19th November, 2024! Perhaps he would’ve wanted to end this journey on a winning note, but it doesn’t always go according to the plans, right? And, that’s why a few days ago he claimed, “There are no ideal endings. Ideal endings usually happen in American movies.” Following Spain’s exit from the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Rafael Nadal returned to the court to address the crowd with his farewell speech. Guess what happened next? Tennis Channel viewers in the US, including Serena Williams’ ex-coach claimed that they were unable to fully experience the moment due to subpar coverage and lack of a translator.

Imagine the scenario where your favorite player is giving out his farewell speech and you’re not able to understand what he’s trying to say to his fans. Several fans came out in numbers to take a jibe at the TC for this massive blunder in a vital moment of a legend’s career. Rennae Stubbs was also spotted lashing out at the network’s broadcast team on social media. Although, later on, fans got the translated version of that farewell speech through multiple sources, still they claimed it was not an ideal coverage by any sort by this renowned broadcasting channel.

What did Rafael Nadal say during his speech, though? Well, Nadal commenced his emotional retirement speech by extending his heartfelt gratitude to the fans. He thanked them for their constant support through the ups and downs of his career. Nadal further added, “The truth is that you never want to get to this point. I’m not tired of playing tennis but my body doesn’t want to play anymore and you have to accept that. I feel super privileged, I’ve been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time.“

Then in the later phase of that emotional speech, we saw Rafael Nadal paying a tribute to his loved ones. He thanked his wife Maria Francisca Perello, his sister Maribel, his uncle Tony, and his parents for their incredible support in difficult times and for keeping him “grounded” in moments of success. Thousands of fans chanted his name after the conclusion of the post-match interview session. It was an incredible atmosphere inside the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena stadium in Malaga. Quite a memorable moment for the family! However, it wasn’t a memorable experience for some of the fans, and here’s what they said about the poor standard of coverage.

Serena Williams’ former coach joins fans to lash out at the broadcasters of Rafael Nadal’s farewell event in Malaga

Serena Williams penned down a heartfelt note to pay tribute to Rafael Nadal’s incredible journey. She shared a video clip on her IG account with the caption, “@rafaelnadal Congratulations on a career that most wont dare to dream of. I feel so fortunate to have been able to play when you were playing and being Great. You inspired me to be better, to play harder, for fight, to never give up, and to win more. No excuses just play the sport. Your legacy will never die. Wow to see your career from the beginning to today was an honor Champ! Long live Rafa! #rafanadal.”

Even Serena Williams‘ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs thanked Nadal for his enormous contribution to the tennis world. She tweeted, “I’ll miss this so much! @RafaelNadal THANK YOU!” However, along with this tweet, she also came up with another tweet after that which read, “Hey TC some people can understand Spanish. So let’s hear it, no matter what! I mean no offense to the commentators but get some Spanish interpretation on the screen.“

Clearly, she wasn’t too pleased with the coverage! Even some of the fans spoke about the same. A fan looked a bit surprised with the lack of effort put in by the Tennis Channel. The fan wrote, “Rafa is speaking at his RETIREMENT CEREMONY and nobody thought to have a translator or Spanish speaker involved? 🇺🇸 TC crowd… I feel you.”

However, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Tennis Channel in the middle of all the controversies. Just a few days ago, renowned tennis journalist, Jon Wertheim got himself into some real trouble after making a horrible comment about Barbora Krejčíková. He was then covering the WTA Finals on Tennis Channel. In a viral footage, Wertheim was spotted commenting on Krejcikova’s forehead calling it “eighthead.”

Later on, Tennis Channel was forced to make a swift response and they issued an apology to the former world number 2 and also removed the analyst from the job. Although, Wertheim also issued an apology to Krejcikova, but till then everything was literally done and dusted. Even this time, fans were quite disappointed to see them using no translators during their coverage of Rafael Nadal’s speech. A fan hilariously suggested to them, “maybe hire an interpreter for a day…slip ’em a hundred bucks…cheap.”

While others came up with a few names. Who did they ask for, though? Well, a fan tweeted, “Tennis Channel could have Nicolas Periera translating…instead, we get 3 pale dudes who can’t speak a lick of Spanish.” Nicolas Pereira is a commentator for the TC and he’s also a former professional tennis player. So, a few of them thought this 54-year-old Venezuelan could’ve been a better option.

Interestingly not only there were some issues with the translations, but some of the fans were spotted heavily criticizing them for their “disgraceful” coverage, as they claimed the commentators talked over Rafael Nadal’s speech. Highlighting these two issues another fan wrote, “If you were going to talk over Rafa you should’ve had someone who could translate what he was saying to your English audience.” So, overall Rafael Nadal’s farewell was a bittersweet memory for all the tennis fans in multiple aspects. Share your thoughts on Nadal’s incredible career.