Nick Kyrgios makes 10-word plea to Rafael Nadal as 'King of Clay' announces tennis retirement
Nick Kyrgios wants to play Rafael Nadal one more time
GETTY
Nick Kyrgios has pleaded with Rafael Nadal to postpone his retirement so the pair can play one more match.
Nadal took to social media on Thursday to reveal he will be retiring from professional tennis after next month's Davis Cup Final.
Spain are scheduled to play the Netherlands on November 19 with the winner facing either Germany or Canada in the semi-finals on November 22.
Nadal's last match could come on November 24 if Spain make it all the way to the final.
Nick Kyrgios wants to play Rafael Nadal one more time
GETTY
However, Kyrgios wants Nadal to rethink his decision to walk away from the sport.
"Rafa don't retire I wanna play you 1 last time," Kyrgios wrote on X.
Kyrgios famously beat Nadal as a 19-year-old prodigy at Wimbledon back in 2014.
The pair met a further eight times with Nadal winning six times to Kyrgios' other two.
Their last scheduled match was at Wimbledon in 2022 in a hotly-anticipated semi-final clash.
However, Nadal withdrew from the tournament ahead of the match to give Kyrgios a walkover to his first major final.
They've had a patchy relationship over the years with their differing personalities often clashing.
Nadal called out Kyrgios' behaviour at times, with the Australian tennis star often taking jabs back at his rival.
Rafael Nadal will retire after the Davis Cup Finals
GettyKyrgios has not played on the ATP Tour since June 2023 having struggled with his own injury issues.
His last Grand Slam tournament match came at the US Open in 2022 when he lost to Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.
Kyrgios recently revealed that he plans to make his long-awaited comeback at the Australian Open.
"I appreciate all my fans," he said.
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Nick Kyrgios has not played since June 2023
PA"And I’ll be back Aussie summer 2025 but playing some world team tennis at the end of the year.”
Australian Open chief Craig Tiley also expects the 29-year-old to make his first appearance at Melbourne Park since 2022.
“Nick will be back," Tiley said.
“We know he’s out there practicing and preparing for the summer. He loves playing in Australia. We expect to see him back and we know he’s on track with that preparation.”