Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal Parera, son of Sebastián Nadal and Ana María Parera and brother of María Isabel Nadal, was born on June 3, 1986 in Manacor (Balearic Islands) in the bosom of a family with a sporting background since his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal was part of the F.C Barcelona and R.C.D Mallorca, soccer teams in Spain.

From a very young age he already showed traits of being a great sports enthusiast, as tennis and soccer were two of his great passions. His other uncle, Toni Nadal, who was also a tennis player, was the one who began to put in vein the sport of the racket and with only 5 years and held it in his hands. Little by little the enormous quality that the manacorí treasured was being seen and at the age of eight he would already win his first official tournament. The Tennis Federation wanted Rafa and his family to move to Barcelona to prepare an elite player, but finally they would stay in Mallorca where his uncle would be in charge of his preparation. The promising young tennis player would continue to win titles in lower categories and began to emerge as one of the best athletes of all time.

HIS BEGINNINGS AS A PROFESSIONAL

In 2001, Rafa Nadal would begin to form part of the professional world, reaching the second round of the Challenger of Seville with only 15 years. His first ATP victory would come in Mallorca in 2002 when he was still under 16 years old, being the ninth player in "The Open Era" to achieve that accomplishment at that age. A year later, Rafa would reach the ATP Top 50 for the first time. He was unable to play Roland Garros due to injury, but he did make his debut at Wimbledon, becoming the youngest player to reach the third round, something that had not been achieved since 1984.

FIRST GREAT SUCCESSES

In 2004, the legend of a boy with a hunger for important titles began to be forged. Having just come of age, he would play a key role in the victory of the Spanish National Team against the United States in the Davis Cup, thus achieving his first major title. In 2005 he would step on the ground where he would be "King of Kings", Roland Garros. The Spaniard won his first Grand Slam, defeating Mariano Puerta in the final. He would begin to get a taste for clay being his ally to achieve incredible victories, and in the following three years he would win this title consecutively. In the 2008 final it was the Swiss Roger Federer who succumbed to a brilliant Nadal who did not let him win a single set in the final. With this victory, the Spaniard achieved a historic milestone by winning four consecutive Roland Garros titles.

Later, also in 2008, he was proclaimed champion of the English Wimbledon tournament, again beating Roger Federer in the final. Both reached the final of the same Grand Slam three times in a row, although the previous tournaments were won by Roger. This time it was the Spaniard's turn, thus opening his locker in England.

During the Olympic Games in Beijing, the Spaniard helped Spain to win for the first time in its history an Olympic gold medal in the men's singles category, defeating Chile's Fernando Gonzalez. After a spectacular year, Rafa Nadal ended up being number one in the ATP, the first Spaniard to do so since 1973. He would also be awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports.

MAKING HISTORY

In 2009 he would win his sixth Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, thus becoming the fourth tennis player in history to win on three different surfaces (clay, grass and cement), joining such illustrious sportsmen as André Agassi, Jimmy Connors and Mats Wilander. He would drop to second place in the ATP ranking when he was surprisingly eliminated at Roland Garros against Robin Söderling in the final. Although it would not take him long to return to the top, as in 2010 he would win the US Open for the first time (beating Novak Djokovic in the final), his fifth Roland Garros and his second Wimbledon. These titles in a string would make him once again occupy the highest place in the ranking. After accomplishing the feat of winning the four Grand Slams and the Gold medal at the Olympic Games, the Spaniard was awarded the Golden Slam, a distinction that is only granted for winning the four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal. A very difficult feat to achieve because you have to perform at an exceptional level for a long time to win all the titles.

An incredible projection slowed down by injuries

Nadal continued to shine and from 2010 to 2014 he added four Roland Garros in a row, winning nine Parisian tournaments. Breaking records and appearing on every front page in the world, the Spaniard never disappointed and in every tournament he was a firm contender, until injuries struck. He had to undergo surgery for appendicitis and this caused him to drop a few places in the ranking. He started 2015 in third place in the ATP ranking and ended it in fifth position. This drop in his level could be perfectly attributed to injuries.

In 2016 he would win an Olympic gold again, this time at the Rio de Janeiro Games. It was in the doubles category with Marc Lopez. He also had to withdraw from the mixed doubles with Garbiñe Muguruza, as he had discomfort in a wrist and was trying to reserve for the quarterfinals in the Singles category, as expressed by the same organization of the event. This did not help him and in the semifinals he was defeated by the Argentine Martín Del Potro. He also failed to win the bronze after losing to Japan's Kei Nishikori.

The reconquest of the number one

The Balearic would manage to leave his injuries behind and in 2017 would return to occupy that first position in the ranking that he so longed for. At 31 years old, Rafa would again return to his best version and would end up winning his tenth Roland Garros against Stan Wawrinka without dropping a single set in the entire tournament. Rafa Nadal, who many saw in decline, would again show that he would appear after his wrist injuries and a tremendous emotional wear to return to win a Grand Slam and add by then his 15th major. It would not end there and he would win the US Open again, defeating Kevin Anderson in the final by 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

 

The year 2018 for the Spaniard would be full of lights and shadows. He would finish the season in the Top-3 and would win his 11th Roland Garros, although injuries would once again weigh down his performance and he was only able to play half of the tournaments set in his calendar. Despite that, he would become the first tennis player in history to manage to win the same Master 1000: Monte Carlo on eleven occasions.

2019, A MAGICAL YEAR

The year 2019 would be a special period for the native of Manacor consecrating himself as the best of all time on clay by winning his 12th Roland Garros, being a true idol in Parisian lands and being part of the history of the tournament. This time the victim in the final would be Thiem, one of the most promising tennis players of today. Later he would also win the US Open, becoming the first player to win five majors at the age of 30. He would end up as number one in the ATP list with 19 Grand Slams and only one behind the Swiss Roger Federer, who holds the record with 20 titles.

He is currently second in the rankings with 9850 points, with Novak Djokovic in first place with 10220.

ACHIEVEMENTS WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM

Rafael Nadal has been part of what is called "La Armada Española", the Spanish Davis Cup team, since 2004. The Spanish team has six titles to its credit with Rafa participating in five of them (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019). The Mallorcan won the final point that gave Spain its last Davis Cup title.

Nadal also has two Olympic gold medals to his credit, one in Singles (Beijing 2008 Games) and the other in Doubles with Marc Lopez (Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games).

PALMARÉS

Rafa Nadal's track record reflects that he is the Spanish tennis player with more individual titles, more Grand Slam, more Master 1000 titles and the one who has remained in the first position of the ATP for more weeks, being one of the best tennis players of all time.

Grand Slam	Masters 1000	Olympic Games	ATP 500	ATP 250	Davis Cup
19	35	Two golds	21	9	5

 

PERSONAL LIFE

Rafa Nadal is currently married to Mery Perelló, a woman with whom he has been in a relationship for 14 years. The Spaniard is passionate about sports and his favorite soccer team is Real Madrid. He maintains a great relationship with Spanish sportsmen and together with Pau Gasol he carried out an initiative to fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, raising funds to be destined to different collectives. He has his own "Rafa Nadal Foundation" where he helps the most disadvantaged. Throughout his career he has demonstrated his concern for the weakest sectors of society and has carried out different initiatives to combat it.