Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony organisers critcised

Tournament director Feliciano Lopez and International Tennis Federation president David Haggerty have defended the retirement ceremony, which came earlier than expected due to Spain's surprise defeat.

Former world No 1 and 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal played the final match of his career at the Finals in Malaga last week.

The 38-year-old was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, with the Netherlands ultimately defeating Spain 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals.

Nadal's career was celebrated following the conclusion of the quarter-final, with video messages from the likes of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray on display.

However, Djokovic, Federer, and Murray did not attend in person as initially expected.

According to El Espanol, this was because the retirement ceremony was expected to take place on Friday - on the assumption Spain would win their quarter-final.

This has attracted widespread criticism, including from figures close to Nadal.

Nadal's coach and Grand Slam winner Carlos Moya accused the ceremony of being "scruffy and shabby" on Spanish radio station Radioestadio Noche.

He said: "The feeling we are all left with is a bit scruffy and shabby. It's true that it's a Tuesday night, but this is sport and we knew months in advance that if Spain lost, Rafa would retire. Nadal is far above all this."

Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni was also critical, claiming the ceremony "did not meet expectations".

When questioned about the ceremony in a press conference on Sunday, Nadal's close friend and former Davis Cup doubles partner Lopez said the tournament "did our best" to celebrate the tennis icon.

"We have to focus on the fact that Nadal chose the Davis Cup to end his career and not on the ceremony. We did our best," said Lopez.

Haggerty also defended the ceremony, adding: "We felt it was important to listen to what Rafa wanted and how he wanted to be celebrated. And that's exactly what we did, we let ourselves be guided."

The Netherlands, who saw off Spain thanks to Wesley Koolhof and van de Zandschulp's decisive doubles win over Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers, ultimately made Sunday's final.

The nation, led by captain Paul Haarhuis, defeated Germany 2-0 in Friday's semi-final before falling to Italy in Sunday's final.

Friday's session saw a retirement ceremony staged for Koolhof, who called time on his career this week.

The 35-year-old is a former doubles world No 1 and won the Wimbledon men's doubles title in 2023, and the French Open mixed title in 2022.

READ MORE: Italy make history with stunning Davis Cup title defence