MADRID >> Rafael Nadal announced Thursday he will retire from tennis at age 38 following next month’s Davis Cup finals.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam singles titles during an unprecedented era he shared with his rivals in the so-called Big Three, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true,” Nadal said in an announcement on social media. “I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way”

Nadal’s unrelenting, physical style of play — every point pursued as though it were his last, sprinting and sliding into place for that high-bouncing bullwhip of a lefty forehand — made him one of the greats of the game and the unquestioned King of Clay, the slow, red surface on which he claimed his record 14 French Open championships.

That’s more than anyone, man or woman, won at any one of the sport’s four major tournaments, a dominance celebrated by a statue of Nadal that stands near the main entrance to the grounds of Roland Garros and in the shadow of its main stadium, Court Philippe Chatrier.

Alcaraz upset by Machac in Shanghai and Sabalenka rallies in Wuhan >> No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak was ended by Tomas Machac 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals.

It was No. 33 Machac’s third tour-level quarterfinal, and the Czech player proved more than a match for the four-time major-winning Spaniard as he earned his second win over a top-five opponent this year in two hours.

Machac will play top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Alcaraz, who won the China Open in a thriller against Sinner last week, learned of Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement shortly before going on court but said the news about his idol hadn’t affected his match.

NBA

3-time NBA champion Green, a 3-point sharpshooter, announces retirement >> Danny Green, the sharpshooting guard who won an NCAA championship at North Carolina before helping three different franchises win NBA championships, announced his retirement as a player.

Green won NBA titles with San Antonio in 2014, Toronto in 2019 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, and was a starter on all three of those clubs. He averaged 8.7 points over parts of 15 pro seasons.

Green retires with 1,577 3-pointers, 43rd-most in NBA history. He’s one of only 12 players to make that many 3-pointers and shoot at least 40% from beyond the arc.

College football

Army and Navy are each 5-0 for the 1st time since 1945. They could play twice this year, too >> Until this year, Army and Navy had not each started the college football season 5-0 in nearly eight decades.

That was the fall of 1945, weeks after World War II ended, back in the heyday when service academies were powerhouses in the sport. Army, led by Heisman Trophy winner Felix “Doc” Blanchard, was declared the national champion that year by the Associated Press, the second of back-to-back titles.

The two programs have not been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll at the same time since 1960.

Golf

McCarty and Norlander share lead in Utah’s return to PGA Tour after 61 years >> Henrik Norlander and Korn Ferry Tour grad Matt McCarty each played bogey-free for a 9-under 62 to share the lead in the Black Desert Championship as the PGA Tour returned to Utah for the first time in 61 years.

Norlander couldn’t have asked for much more. He hit all 14 fairways and every green in posting his best round on the PGA Tour.