The Baseline Awards: Nadal, Muguruza, Murray, Kerber and more say goodbye in 2024

If there’s one thing that’s certain in tennis in the years ahead, it’s this: The induction ceremony for the 2029 International Tennis Hall of Fame will be something to see

It will be one of the more crowded classes in recent memory, after four of the greatest players of the past 20 years all decided to hang up their racquets in 2024.

Rafael Nadal. Angelique Kerber. Andy Murray. Garbine Muguruza.

Between them, they’ve won 30 Grand Slam singles titles and spent multiple weeks atop the world rankings. Though it appeared that the writing was on the wall for all of them, there was still the excitement of them potentially pulling off one more legendary feat before the end.

Read the tributes:

• Rafael Nadal's final victory was keeping Father Time at bay for 20 years — Tignor
• Rafael Nadal, the passionate realist, retires from tennis — Bodo
• Rafael Nadal, 22-time Grand Slam champion and King of Clay, retires from tennis at Davis Cup — Drucker

After stepping away from the WTA Tour for a while, Muguruza was the first to make her departure official, announcing that she was retiring in April.

Among the Spaniard’s accomplishments were victories at the French Open, Wimbledon and the WTA Finals.

Several months later, three-time Grand Slam champions Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber each announced that the Summer Olympics would be the last tournaments of their respective careers.

Read the tributes:

• In a tennis career akin to a comet, Garbiñe Muguruza built a style all her own
• Andy Murray, the Great British Tennis Show, retires after giving everything he had, everywhere
• Angelique Kerber, late-blooming contender turned champion, plays her last tennis match

The Scot and German shared many similarities when it comes to their accomplishments: Wimbledon and US Open victories, titles on every surface and perhaps-unlikely stints in the rankings penthouse. They also performed quite admirably for their respective countries, with Murray a two-time gold medalist at the Olympics and Kerber a silver medalist.

The two fought valiantly in Paris this year, with Murray partnering Dan Evans to reach the quarters in men’s doubles, while Kerber reached the same stage in singles. Her dream run was ended by the eventual Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in a third-set tiebreak.

And in October, the near-Internet-breaking moment happened, when Nadal dropped his retirement video.

There’s more than a few people out there that would consider Nadal a GOAT and it’s hard to argue against it: 22 Grand Slam titles, including a mind-blowing 14 in Paris; dozens and dozens of singles titles; the first of the “Big 3” to complete the career Slam; multiple Olympic Gold Medals and Davis Cup triumphs—the list goes on and on.

In his last tournament, this year’s Davis Cup finals, Nadal lost his singles match as Spain was unable to advance. Still, the final result is a mere drop in a career that will have a lasting impact on generations to come.

Major winners Dominic Thiem, Elena Vesnina and Wesley Koolhof, along with fan favorites and tour standouts Alize Cornet, Stevie Johnson, Donald Young and Ryan Harrison, also put in their retirement papers after noteworthy careers.

While their playing days might be over, we’ll surely see them around the courts. Already, Muguruza has recently wrapped up her first go as the tournament director of the WTA Finals. And Murray, who famously tweeted this after his last match…

…will be back on the tour next year in Novak Djokovic’s coaching box. It appears tennis isn’t done with the class of ’29 yet.

Read the tributes:

• Dominic Thiem, 31-year-old former US Open champion, retires in Vienna
• 'What a ride': Former doubles No. 1 Elena Vesnina announces retirement from tennis
• Alizé Cornet announces that she'll retire from tennis after Roland Garros