Ticket prices spike for Rafael Nadal’s final matches

Image via AP.

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal announced his retirement last week, saying he would conclude his illustrious career with Spain’s Davis Cup team. The announcement has driven ticket prices through the roof.

According to Apuestas-deportivas.es, tickets to the Davis Cup matches in Malaga, Spain, have risen to $9,504, more than 14 times the price for a similar quarterfinal match between Germany and Canada.

Tickets to the semifinals and finals would be even more expensive. According to the study, tickets for Spain’s potential semifinal matchup average $9,787, and tickets to the finals average $13,865.

The cheapest ticket to potentially see Nadal play in the quarterfinals runs $2,148 on the Viagogo ticket app. The most expensive ticket to potentially see Nadal play is for the finals costs $182,842 on Viagogo.

Nadal, 38, has won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in men’s tennis history. He is one of three men to win a career Golden Slam, winning singles titles at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and an Olympic gold medal.

His last Grand Slam championship came at the 2022 French Open, where he won the tournament for a record 14th time.

Due to injuries, he has not played since the Paris Olympics. In his retirement video on social media, Nadal said injuries over the past two seasons have been a major hurdle.

“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations,” Nadal said. “It is obviously a difficult decision, 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.”

Only Novak Djokovic has won more men’s Grand Slam singles titles than Nadal. No man or woman has won more Grand Slam titles at a single tournament than Nadal’s record at Roland Garros.