Rafael Nadal could be headed to retirement after losing opening match at the Davis Cup

MALAGA, Spain — Rafael Nadal lost 6-4, 6-4 to Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup on Tuesday in what may have been the last match of the Spaniard's career.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is retiring from professional tennis after the team event in Malaga, and Nadal will not get to play again if Spain loses the decisive double match against the Netherlands later Tuesday.

Third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz kept Spain alive — and extended Nadal's career for a little longer — by defeating No. 40 Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the other singles.

Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers were scheduled to play the doubles match for Spain against van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof.

Nadal was cheering for Alcaraz alongside his teammates on the Spain bench by center court, and was pumping his fist after a crucial point won by his younger teammate.

Spain would play again in Friday's semifinal if it rallies to defeat the Dutch, though Nadal said he would not pick himself to play again considering his performance against No. 80 van de Zandschulp.

“Probably the easy move and maybe the right move is to change,” Nadal said. “I mean, if I would be the captain, probably I will change, I don’t put myself the next day. If we go through, that’s my feeling.”

The 38-year-old Nadal had won 29 Davis Cup singles matches in a row.

“It’s in some ways good, maybe, if that was my last match,” Nadal said. “I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So we close the circle.”

Nadal hadn’t played an official match anywhere in 3 1/2 months and had a 12-7 singles record in 2024.

His last official competition was the Paris Olympics in August, when he lost to longtime rival Novak Djokovic in the second round. Nadal reached the doubles quarterfinals with Alcaraz in Paris, and last month he played two exhibition matches in Saudi Arabia.

“I knew it could be my last match as a professional and the emotions were difficult to manage,” Nadal said. “I wasn’t able to read the game quickly enough to feel in control. When you’ve spent so much time out of competition, everything is decided by small details and I’m not in the same form as players who are on the circuit. Today won’t be the day for me to criticize myself."

Nadal put up a good fight against the big-serving van de Zandschulp in the first set but had his serve broken late. He was also broken to start the second set, and was never able to fully get back into the match on an indoor hard court at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena in southern Spain.

“That was a tough, tough match to play,” van de Zandschulp said. “Playing Rafa here in Spain, probably the biggest sportsman here in Spain, so the atmosphere was crazy. For me, when I grew up he was an idol of (mine).”

Nadal had said ahead of Spain’s debut he would not want to play any singles match if he didn’t feel he was ready, and said he wanted captain David Ferrer to make what he thought was the best decision for the team without taking the hype about his retirement into consideration.

Nadal helped Spain win the Davis Cup in 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.