Rafa Nadal's retirement statement

The following is Rafa Nadal's retirement statement in which the 22-times Grand Slam champion said on Thursday that he would end his career at the Davis Cup next month:

"Hello everybody. I'm here to tell you that I'm retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that these last two years have been difficult, especially. I don't think I have been able to play without limitations.

"It's obviously a difficult decision, which has taken me a long time to make. But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end.

"I think it's the appropriate time to put an end to what has been a long and much more successful career than I could have ever imagined.

"But I am very excited that my last tournament is the final of the Davis Cup. Representing my country, I think is to come full circle, as one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player, because it was the final in Seville in 2004.

"I feel super, super lucky for all the things I have been able to experience. I want to thank the whole tennis industry, all the people who are involved in this sport. My teammates for so many years, especially my great rivals.

"I have spent so many hours with them and I have experienced so many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.

"Talking about my team is a bit more difficult for me because in the end my team has been a very important part of my life. They are not just coworkers, they are friends. They have been by my side in all the moments that I've really needed them.

"Very bad moments, very good moments, moments when they have had to push me, moments when they gave me more slack. We have lived so much together that it is difficult to explain.

"Family is everything to me. My mother, I think she has made all the sacrifices