Garbiñe Muguruza Receives the Ultimate Tribute From Rafael Nadal’s Famous Uncle Toni in a Heartfelt Farewell Note

After Garbine Muguruza’s shocking retirement announcement, the tennis world has conveyed its heartfelt wishes to her. And adding to that list comes yet another noticeable note from Rafael Nadal’s former coach and uncle, Toni Nadal. Acknowledging Muguruza’s “successful career” so far, he bid her a final goodbye from the tennis community.

The former World No. 1 announced her retirement during a press conference before the Laureus Awards ceremony in Madrid, ending her 12-year career in the game. Muguruza, who hasn’t played since January 2023, addressed her long and successful career, adding that she felt it was the right time to retire. Owing to this announcement, Toni Nadal took to his Instagram and posted a picture of Garbine Muguruza, captioning it as “@garbimuguruza, wishing you the best in this new chapter of your life. Your sporting career has been very successful. But I am sure that this new stage will be full of wonderful moments, too.”

Interestingly, popular opinion is that Toni’s nephew Rafael Nadal is also set to retire after 2024. Although leaving the competitive world is never easy, these players’ influence the sport won’t go away.

Even within a short period of her tenure in tennis, Garbine Muguruza’s career trajectory has had its own set of accomplishments. Her track record in tennis started by taking home the Roland Garros trophy in 2016. Then she won the Wimbledon in 2017. Furthermore, she also clinched five doubles titles throughout her career. For four weeks, Muruguza remained the top-ranked athlete in the world.

However, after not playing since the start of last year, she is now ready to jump into the next phase of her life. But, before saying goodbye, the Spanish-Venezuelan player acknowledged her “fantastic journey” in tennis. And she also added how her achievements have been nothing but a dream come true.

“Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life” – Garbine Muguruza

After turning professional in 2012, Garbine Muguruza defeated Serena Williams in the final of the French Open. This way, she earned her first Grand Slam title in 2016. But the next year, it was Venus Williams who faced a defeat at Wimbledon. And then Muguruza reached the World No. 1 ranking and won the WTA Finals as well.

Recalling those moments before her retirement, she said, “If 25 years ago, when I started hitting my first tennis balls, someone had told me that I would become a professional tennis player…that I would become number one in the world and win the WTA Finals. I would have thought this person was crazy,”

Further addressing her love for tennis, Garbine Muguruza added, “Tennis has given me a lot in this first part of my life.” However, like Toni Nadal, all her fans are waiting to witness the transition from tennis to her new phase of life. As she embarks on this new journey, her contribution to the tennis world will always remain etched in the history of the sport.