Twenty-two-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the 2024 season. His final event will be the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain in November. 

"It is obviously a difficult decision," Nadal said in a video announcement posted to social media, "one that has taken me some time to make, but in this life, everything has a beginning and an end, and I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined."

World No.1 Iga Swiatek posted a heartfelt message on Instagram on Friday directed to her idol. The two have been intertwined ever since Swiatek followed in her idol's footsteps to win Roland Garros as a teenager. She has added three more French Open titles since then, sealing a three-peat in May. Last year, Nadal invited Swiatek to give a keynote address at the Rafa Nadal Academy graduation ceremony. 

"You were and still are the biggest inspiration that I ever had in tennis," Swiatek said. "The reason why sometimes I got extra motivated and kept pushing myself.

"Thank you for that and thank you for being such an amazing person off the court as well. Your humility is something that is not so [common] when you see other athletes succeeding. You're the one that always stayed honest with himself and true to himself. Thank you for being such a good person.

"I hope you're going to enjoy the other part of your life and hopefully maybe some other career, because the sky is the limit for you now."

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Before her Round of 16 match at the Dongfeng Voyah · Wuhan Open, World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka watched Nadal's retirement announcement with tears in her eyes.

"He's inspiration for all of us, for the next generation, for current players. He's a legend," Sabalenka said.

"As he said actually there, everything has the beginning and the end. We all going to be there. I'm really happy for what he was able to achieve. He was inspiration for everyone. He's a hard worker. He definitely had so much love for this sport."

As the news spread of the 38-year-old Nadal's announcement, reactions from the Hologic WTA Tour players have flooded social media. Nadal served as a role model for many of the players, all of whom marveled and praised him for his relentless competitiveness, mental strength and humility. 

Katie Boulter said it best: "Nope, I/we refuse this application to retire."

World No.7 Zheng Qinwen was shocked to see the news when she walked off court after her comeback win over Leylah Fernandez to make the Wuhan quarterfinals.

"I watched his match since I was a kid," Zheng said. "There's lots of memories. Even now sometimes I will search Rafael Nadal and watch his old matches when he had 19 years old, 20, when he's at his primetime.

"Of course, he inspire a lot to me. Even right now sometimes when I'm at difficult moment, I will think how strong is Rafael Nadal's mentality in the tennis."

From Ons Jabeur to Caroline Garcia, see more player reactions below: