Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs has drawn a comparison between Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf over how they chose to retire from professional tennis. Stubbs suggested that Nadal’s farewell was devoid of excessive fanfare, which was reflective of his personality.
Nadal recently ended his illustrious career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, following Spain’s heartbreaking quarterfinal exit. While controversy has arisen over the seeming lack of grandeur for the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s farewell, Rennae Stubbs has put it down to the Spaniard’s personality being similar to Graf’s.
Steffi Graf shocked the tennis world when she announced her decision to retire at 30 while ranked the World No. 3, just months after winning her 22nd and final Grand Slam title at the 1999 French Open.
During the latest episode of the ‘Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast,’ Stubbs explained that Graf chose not to prolong her career due to the physical pain she was experiencing throughout her body and her budding relationship with fellow tennis legend Andre Agassi.
Stubbs emphasized that Graf’s decision was also influenced by her aversion to the spotlight, suggesting Rafael Nadal possessed a similar personality to the 22-time Grand Slam champion, more so than Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, or Andy Murray did.
“It’s like Steffi. It’s interesting because Steffi just dropped the mic and walked away because she was hurting. Her body was hurting, her knee was hurting, her foot was hurting, her back was hurting. She was in love. She’d just met Andre, and they were dating, but she was different so she just stopped,” Stubbs said.
