‘Long live Rafa!’ Serena, Gauff, Swiatek lead tributes to Rafael Nadal

Count former World No.1s Iga Swiatek and Serena Williams among the myriad tennis fans around the world who had an emotional reaction Tuesday to Rafael Nadal’s final career match.

In a video posted to her Instagram account where she wore Nadal-branded Nike merchandise, tennis legend Williams hailed another all-time great career — which ended Tuesday when the Spanish Davis Cup team lost to the Netherlands in front of a sellout crowd in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals — as one that “most won’t dare to dream of.”

“I feel so fortunate to have been able to play when you were playing and being great,” Williams added in her salute to 22-time Grand Slam singles champion Nadal. “You inspired me to be better, to play harder, [to] fight, to never give up, and to win more. No excuses; just play the sport.

“You legacy will never die. Wow, to see your career from the beginning to today was an honor champ! Long live Rafa!”

Later, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Williams admitted the day’s events left her “choked up” — a sentiment shared by former doubles World No.8 Katrina Adams and Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, among many others.

Williams’ care package of Nadal-inspired swag was also received by other players around the tour who share Nike as a sponsor. Bianca Andreescu and Mirra Andreeva were two such players, and they offered their own tributes to Nadal ahead of his final match as they showed off the gear in their Instagram stories.

“Showing appreciation for Spain’s finest today,” wrote Andreescu — who won the US Open alongside Nadal in 2019 — with the hashtag #rafaforever, while 17-year-old rising star Andreeva thanked Nadal for “inspiring everyone.”

As Nadal took the court in Malaga, Swiatek and reigning WTA Finals champion Coco Gauff were tuned in attentively.

As she watched Nadal, her idol, tear up as the Spanish national anthem played, Swiatek dubbed the emotional scene already “too much,” before sharing a carousel of photos of herself and Nadal through the years on Instagram.

Gauff later joked that “today, I am from Spain,” signaling that she’d be pulling for Nadal and his teammates.

Nadal was also honored with an on-court ceremony after Spain was ultimately defeated 2-1 by the Netherlands, which featured a four-plus minute tribute video that included messages from Williams and International Tennis Hall of Famer Conchita Martinez.