Rafael Nadal's long-time partnership with Babolat has been marked by the equipment brand creating an outstanding bag to celebrate the end of his career.
Tuesday will be the final day of Nadal's illustrious career if Team Spain does not defeat the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Malaga. The 38-year-old announced last month that he would retire after the team event.
Recently, many have speculated about Nadal's chances of playing in the singles at the Davis Cup Finals. He has been preparing for a few weeks but was cautious about his chances of being fit and ready.
Nadal also told Spain's captain, David Ferrer, to consider only what is in the team's interests when deciding whether to play him in the singles or doubles against the Netherlands or any other subsequent matches.
However, Nadal's fans got some encouraging news when footage of the 22-time Grand Slam champion practicing with Carlos Alcaraz on Monday emerged on social media. Their brief practice session ended 4-4.
Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez also practiced together as a doubles partnership, indicating they could be chosen to represent Spain in the final match if the tie with the Netherlands is locked at 1-1.
It was subsequently reported on Tuesday morning that Nadal would play in the singles of Spain's quarterfinal tie and could also play in the doubles if needed, but the likelihood of him competing in the doubles was not as certain.
Regardless of how involved he is, Nadal will walk onto the court with a special bag from Babolat, which has partnered with him since 1995, when the Spaniard was a child.
The bag can be seen below. It is predominantly black, but shades of pink, blue, yellow, and orange are also on the visually appealing bag, made by Nadal's long-term equipment sponsor.
It then lists memorable moments from Nadal's career since he first collaborated with Babolat. This includes the year the partnership began, and the year he won his first Davis Cup title, 2004.
Babolat's bag also mentions that it has provided Nadal with 1250 rackets and that the former world No. 1 had never smashed any of them, demonstrating his remarkable composure over the years.
Unsurprisingly, Nadal's Grand Slam tally of 22 is also written on the bag. He won 14 French Opens, four US Opens, two Wimbledons, and two Australian Opens. The last of those came at the 2022 French Open.
Nadal's 36 Masters 1000 titles are also mentioned. The best clay-court player ever also won most of his titles at that level on the dirt, dominating at the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open, in particular.
Babolat's special bag does not leave out Nadal's 23 ATP 500 titles and 10 ATP 250 titles. Having all the titles Nadal won at each ATP level reminds us why he is one of the three greatest players of all time, alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Creating a bag for such a significant occasion may have been nerve-wracking, but Babolat did a great job and deserves credit for that.
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