"I don't have the ego" - Rafael Nadal explains why he chose to retire at Davis Cup Finals instead of playing through physical pain at 38

Rafael Nadal has opened up about his decision to retire at 38, explaining that he chose to step away rather than endure physical discomfort. The Spaniard will bid farewell to his legendary career at the Davis Cup Finals, scheduled from November 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.

Nadal will represent Team Spain, joined by Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pedro Martinez, and Marcel Granollers, with David Ferrer serving as the non-playing captain. Spain will begin their campaign on November 19 against Team Netherlands.

Ahead of that, the 22-time Grand Slam champion shared with the media that he could have continued playing for another year to say goodbye at each event. However, he decided against it, explaining that he doesn’t see himself needing a farewell tour.

"Not new injury. It's about the things that I went through, and, I mean, with the surgery last year, and I don't gonna add the rest of the things that I had, but a few ones, make me feel that I cannot be enough competitive, and I am not able to enjoy my daily basis the way that I need to be competitive at the highest level, no?" he said. 

"So at the end of the day, all relate to the question of myself is about, okay, I can hold for one more year, but why? To say good-bye in every single tournament, I don't have that ego to need that," he continued. 

Rafael Nadal added:

"So at the end is about a feeling that I have been thinking for a long time. For me, today don't make sense or to keep going knowing that I don't have the real chance to be competitive the way that I like to be competitive, because my body is not able to give me the possibility to do that very often."