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WUHAN, China—Coco Gauff joined the wave of current and former players paying tribute to Rafael Nadal, after the 22-time Grand Slam champion announced his plans to retire at the end of the season.

The Spaniard shared the news on Thursday with a video message posted to social media, and along the way broke many hearts around the tennis world—Gauff’s included.

“It's going to happen to everybody one day,” Gauff reflected at the Dongfeng Voyah Wuhan Open on Friday, after cruising into the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-4 victory over Magda Linette.

“Watching the video, (I was) a bit emotional because Rafa is all I've known growing up… Pretty sure he's won Roland Garros for the majority of my life.”

The 20-year-old is actually right, as Nadal lifted the first of his 14 Coupe des Mousquetaires in 2005, when Gauff was barely a year old. By the time he won his final Roland Garros trophy in 2022, Gauff featured in the women’s final against Iga Swiatek.

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That final in Paris proved to be an emotional experience for both: For Gauff, it was her first appearance in a major final, and a tough learning moment after being routed by Swiatek 6-1, 6-3. Nadal, on the other hand, was turning back the clock in his straight sets victory over Casper Ruud, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to extend his lead in the Grand Slam race.

But beyond the 38-year-old's historic achievements and countless records in tennis, it’s been Nadal’s human qualities that have impacted Gauff the most.

“Off the court he was always speaking to me, always saying congratulations to me whenever I did well,” she revealed. “It's something that is very rare when you come across top players (who do that). I don't know, I just felt things he would do, he went out of his way.

“I remember at one point he said congratulations to me the year I went to the finals of the French Open. I kind of did a double take, because I couldn't believe he was speaking to me.”

Nadal confirmed that his final professional event will see him representing Spain one last time at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga—marking the end of a legendary career that was also marred by knee, foot and abdominal injuries. Some of Nadal's most significant and emotional victories have come in national competitions, from his 2004 Davis Cup breakthrough, to his two Olympic gold medals from the 2008 Beijing Games (singles) and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games (doubles).

Rafa is all I've known growing up… Pretty sure he's won Roland Garros for the majority of my life. On why Nadal's retirement news made her "a bit emotional"

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For Gauff, who said Nadal is her favorite person to watch on the practice courts because of his “unmatched” intensity, there’s one memory of the Spaniard that stands out from the rest.

Having been named Team USA’s co-flagbearer at the 2024 Paris Games and riding on a boat down the River Seine with LeBron James, there was just one thing she wanted to do at the Olympics: Trade pins with Nadal.

“We were both waiting on the shuttle. It was the last shuttle of the day, like 11 p.m. I asked him if I could have one of his pins. He gave me one. …He was super nice with that," she recalled with a grin, adding that the pair then took a photo together to commemorate the moment.

“Just something like that I'll remember. And something I'll definitely tell my kids, because it meant a lot to me.”

In Wuhan, No. 4 seed Gauff will face top seed and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday for a place in the final. Sabalenka defeated Madgalena Frech 6-2, 6-2, to advance, setting up a rematch of their 2024 Australian Open semifinal and the 2023 US Open final.

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