Tennis fans on social media debated whether Rafael Nadal's shock loss to Frances Tiafoe at the 2022 US Open was fuelled by the news of Roger Federer's impending retirement.
Federer's official retirement message, which he shared on social media, was on September 15th. However, as revealed in his documentary Federer: Twelve Final Days, he had informed Nadal ten days before any other tennis player.
Federer's documentary premiered at the Tribeca Festival in New York a few days ago and will air worldwide on Prime Video on June 20th. It features some of the most important people in his life, both on a private and professional level.
As the name suggests, the film follows Federer's final 12 days leading to his retirement, from when he relayed the news to the people within his inner circle. One of those was Rafael Nadal, his longtime rival and a man who became a close friend during the end of his career.
The 20-time major champion was not competing at the time and was only scheduled to play one more match in doubles with Nadal at the Laver Cup in London that month.
Nadal was actively in contention to win the 2022 US Open. On the day Federer chose to inform Nadal of the news of his retirement, the Spaniard would lose his fourth-round match against Frances Tiafoe in four sets. Several tennis fans shared immediate reactions to this story.
"Federer told Nadal he will retire 10 days earlier than the others. He announced his retirement on 15th Sep. He told Nadal on 5th September. Nadal lost to Tiafoe on 5th September. This cannot be real, this news broke Nadal."
"Wow so Nadal at the time was dealing with both his wife's pregnancy complications and also this news."
"No. Rafa had an injury, abdominal injury, bothering him the entire summer. His wife was in late stages of pregnancy. Rafa wasn’t at his best against Tiafoe. Don’t start Twitter rumors."
"I think he told him after the match. I recall him saying in one of his interviews that he didn’t want to tell him whilst he was still playing and waited until he lost."