Rafael Nadal

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera, 1st Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca (born 3 June 1986), is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal won 92 ATP Tour singles titles, with 22 major titles—including a record 14 French Open titles—as well as 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal. Nadal is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. His 81 consecutive wins on clay constitute the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.

For nearly two decades, Nadal was a leading figure in men's tennis, alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, collectively known as the Big Three. Early in his career, Nadal became one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in the world and winning 16 titles before turning 20, including his first major title at the 2005 French Open. Nadal became the world No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after defeating Federer in an historic Wimbledon final, his first major championship off clay. He followed with an Olympic singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. By defeating Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final, Nadal became the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the career Grand Slam at 24, and the first man to win majors on three different surfaces in the same year.

Nadal won major singles titles in 10 consecutive years from 2005 to 2014, and again in a four-year span from 2017 to 2020. He also won 11 doubles titles during his career, including an Olympic gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Nadal surpassed his joint-record with Djokovic and Federer for the most Grand Slam men's singles titles at the 2022 Australian Open, and became one of four men in history to complete the double career Grand Slam in singles. Nadal retired from the sport after playing for Spain in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.

As a left-handed player, one of Nadal's main strengths was his forehand, delivered with heavy topspin. He frequently ranked among the tour leaders in return games, return points, and break points won. His game was especially well-suited for clay courts, on which came 63 of his 92 singles titles. Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award five times and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. Time named Nadal one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. Representing Spain, he won two Olympic gold medals, and led the nation to five Davis Cup titles. Nadal has also opened a tennis academy in Mallorca, and is an active philanthropist.

Rafael Nadal Parera was born on 3 June 1986 in Manacor on the island of Mallorca, Spain, to Ana María Parera Femenías and Sebastián Nadal Homar. His father is a businessman who owns an insurance company, a glass and window company, and a restaurant. His mother owned a perfume shop but gave it up to raise Nadal and his younger sister, María Isabel. One of his uncles, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team. As a child, he idolized Ronaldo, and through his uncle was given access to the Barcelona team dressing room to have a photo taken with the Brazilian. Another uncle, tennis coach Toni Nadal, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.

Nadal started to play tennis at the Manacor Tennis Club, where Toni worked as a coach, hitting his first few shots with his uncle. At this stage Nadal's passion was football, which he often played on the streets of Manacor with his friends. He began to play tennis more regularly when he was five. Toni quickly realized that his young nephew had both the passion and talent to be a serious player. Nadal often played tennis in a group, but Toni singled him out during sessions, shouting at him instead of the other kids, and making him pick up the balls and sweep the courts. In his 2011 autobiography, he admitted fearing Toni and dreading solo practice sessions with him. Nadal admitted he sometimes returned home from tennis lessons crying.

At age 8, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship while also being a promising football player. This victory inspired Toni to train Nadal more intensively. After studying Nadal's two-handed forehand, Toni encouraged him to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court. The transition was difficult for Nadal, but Toni helped him make the change, getting him to try it for just 20 minutes per day before gradually increasing that time until he fully adjusted himself to it.

Nadal won the Spanish junior championships in 1997 and 1998, beating Ricardo Villacorta and Marcel Granollers respectively. In 1998 Nadal reached the final of the U14 Spanish championship at the age of 12, a feat that remains unmatched, losing to Juan Sanchez de Luna in straight sets. In late 1998, Nadal won the season-ending U12 Junior Masters at Stuttgart, beating future world No. 5 Kevin Anderson in the final.