The sport in 2022, beyond the usual carousel of emotions, unexpected turns, controversies and a bureaucracy that seems to take more and more prominence from the players and the balls, has brought a good number of goodbyes. Of all colors yes, from consecrated myths to which injuries have not allowed them to increase their showcases to young people who simply seem to have dried up the motivation to compete at the highest level.
Tennis
Roger Federer
The legendary Swiss tennis player left at the age of 41 in tears and surrounded by his friends and competitors. The last photo of him as a professional in the Laver Cup last September will remain for his history, with Nadal and Djokovic wrapping up his comrade, the Swiss surpassed by so much emotion accumulated after 24 seasons of career. In addition to great memories as a person and athlete, Federer leaves behind a heroic showcase, with 20 Grand Slams won, 103 titles on the ATP circuit, 310 weeks at the top of the world ranking (237 of them consecutively, a record to date). unattainable) and more than 1,500 matches played. Honoring his fame as a gentleman, his last words as a professional were dedicated to the two men, Nadal and Djokovic, who accompanied him throughout his glorious pilgrimage to the top of the racket sport: «Together we take tennis to other levels”. The tennis parish also had to say goodbye this 2022 to renowned tennis players such as the French Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or the Argentine Juan Martín del Potro.
Cycling
Alejandro Valverde
The Murcian, 133 victories, closed a 20-year career in November and did so as one of the greatest cyclists that our country has given to international asphalt. In addition to being champion of La Vuelta a España (2009) and making podiums in the Tour de France (2015) and the Giro d’Italia (2016), what makes Valverde great compared to his generational competitors is that he has won practically until final, with special zeal in the classics, such as Liège-Bastoña (four gimped) or Flecha Wallonne (five). In addition, he put the icing on the cake by proclaiming himself world road champion in 2018, already at the age of 38. During the filming of the last season of ‘The least thought day’, a documentary that narrates the misadventures of the Movistar team throughout the cycling season, Valverde was asked if he planned to do a ‘last dance’ (last dance in English) as Michael Jordan did. Valverde, faithful to his peculiar personality, replied: “What is that?” Along with the Spaniard, the Italian Vincenzo Nivali also said goodbye to professional cycling.
Formula 1
Sebastian Vettel
Despite the fact that Lewis Hamilton has been the dominator par excellence in the last decade of Formula 1, before the Briton became a star of the competition and struck down almost all the records that have been and will be, the German dominated with an iron fist the paddock and won no less than four consecutive championships (2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013), all of them with the Red Bull team, which would begin its glorious era as a reference team with the Teutonic, now endorsed by the Dutchman Verstappen. Vettel also fulfilled his destiny as a child prodigy and returned glory to Germany, which since Michael Schumacher’s last title (2004) had not tasted gold. Vettel, after his signing by Ferrari in 2015, saw how his career, little by little, faded away (his last victory was in 2019). At the age of 35 and with 53 victories and 122 podiums behind him, the Teuton announced in July that he would say goodbye once the season was over. His replacement at Aston Martin will be Fernando Alonso.
swing basket
Laia Palau
No one in Spanish women’s basketball has won so much and in so many different countries. The Catalan, who retired last June at the age of 42, accumulated a whopping 45 titles (33 in clubs and 12 with the Spanish team) and gave off an aura of unmatched leadership until the end. Captain in the great conquests of the national team (European gold medals in 2013, 2017 and 2019 and silver medals in the 2007 Eurobasket, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Games), she is also the athlete who has worn the colors of Spain the most times in the selection (314 games). In addition, the Barcelonan has been a globetrotter like few others in the basket, with the bulk of her career developed in Valencia (2006-2012) but with adventures in Poland, the Czech Republic, Australia and France. A month after retiring, she had already signed with the national team, where she will be the liaison between the players and the coaching staff so that the family and competitive spirit endure in the new generation. Palau’s partner in the golden stage of the national team and who also chose to retire last summer was Laura Nicholls.
Tennis
Serena Williams
The world of tennis cried with the departure of Federer and cried with that of Serena Williams, who last August, at the age of 40 (she turned 41 in September), announced that she would retire after the US Open. The legacy of the American, however, will last in the eons, with 23 Grand Slams (seven Australian Open, seven Wimbledon, six US Open and 3 Roland Garros) and a total of 73 titles on the WTA circuit. Raised along with her other four sisters in the humble and dangerous California neighborhood of Compton, Williams, along with her sister Venus, made her way through life with rackets until she reached the top of world tennis. . After a gigantic career and chasing Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slams to the end, injuries and the search for a more stable family life led her to say goodbye, although in recent months there has been speculation about a possible return next season.
Tennis
Asleigh Barty
Totally opposed to the withdrawal of Williams, who exhausted all her options and strength to continue expanding her legend, was that of the Australian, who hung up the racket at the age of 25 and as number one in the WTA ranking, a point and end that deprives tennis of one of its great references in recent years. “Absolutely worn out” and “without strength” were the reasons that she used the antipodes of her after making her farewell official from the slopes last March. Despite her ephemeral passing, Barty tied a Roland Garros (2019), a Wibledom (2021) and an Australian Open (2022). In this way, she wrote a new page in the withdrawals at the top, together with the F1 driver Nico Rosberg, the tennis player Justine Henin or the basketball player Michael Jordan.
Karate
Sandra Sanchez
Considered one of the best karate fighters in history, the woman from Talavera has closed her brilliant career at the age of 40 and with all the titles she was eligible for in her bag. The last six years as number one in the world ranking, seven consecutive European championships, two world titles… an inexhaustible source of medals that culminated in winning the first Olympic gold in kata in Tokyo 2020, as the discipline debuted in Unemployment Japanese lands will no longer return in Paris 2024. “I am excited that I have achieved everything I had dreamed of,” he said in July with the satisfaction of not having left anything unanswered. In addition to Sánches, the Olympics Regino Hernández (snowboard), bronze in PyeongChang 2018, and Ander Mirambell, pioneer in Spain of skelleton, a winter discipline, have also withdrawn in this 2020.
Football
Gerard Piqué
In keeping with his career and his particular style, Gerard Piqué caught everyone off guard by announcing at the beginning of November that he was retiring. The Catalan central defender was going through his worst moments as a footballer and as a public figure. The large investment in signings by the Catalans in the summer (Koundé and Christensen) and the appearance of promising youngsters (Araujo and Eric García), left the 35-year-old defender as the fifth central defender in the squad (594 minutes spread over 10 games between the League and Champions). This, added to his break with Shakira and the leaks of his conversations with RFEF president Luis Rubiales, precipitated his farewell. The center-back leaves one of the most impressive showcases in history, including a World Cup, a Euro Cup, three Champions Leagues and eight leagues. The Argentines Gonzalo Higuaín and Carlos Tévez or the Spanish Nacho Monreal have also hung up their boots this year.
