As Rafael Nadal walked off the clay court of the Barcelona Open with a standing ovation, despite losing in a 5-7 1-6 showdown against world No. 4 Alex de Minaur, the claps of spectators echoed the same question: will this be Nadal’s last stand, his last performance in his career at Barcelona? 

In what may be his last season on professional tour, the Spanish tennis legend may now be the second of the Big Three trio in tennis to leave the court once and for all. Two years ago, former legend Roger Federer retired from professional tennis at the Laver Cup at the age of 41, after suffering several injuries that created too many physical limitations to continue his tennis career. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are now the remaining two of the trio, and plagued by several injuries across all parts of his body throughout recent years, Nadal may also hang up his racket as his performance continues to decrease in quality. 

Novak Djokovic, the youngest of the three, has potentially a few more years to play. But after suffering a loss against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open, the major Djokovic won a record-setting 10 times, the Big Three may finally meet its end before the decade is over. The Big Three of tennis, in which the three players have amassed over 66 major single titles (Djokovic, 24; Nadal, 22; Federer, 20), fans are preparing not to shed tears that an era is about to end, rather admire that such high quality, beautiful tennis has adorned our generation.