Rafael Nadal biography

Synopsis

Early Years

Rafael Nadal was born in Majorca, Spain on June 3, 1986. When he was 3 years old, his uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, started working with him, seeing an aptitude for the sport in young Rafael.

At the age of 8, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship, giving Toni Nadal the incentive to step up his training. Toni noticed at the time that Rafael played his forehand shots with two hands, so he encouraged him to play left-handed, thinking it could give Rafael an edge on the court.

When Nadal was just 12 years old, he won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group, and at age 15, he turned pro and started playing on the junior circuit.

A Young Professional

At the age of 16, in his first ITF junior event, Nadal made it to the semifinals of the Boys' Singles tournament at Wimbledon. By age 17, he became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker.

At the age of 19, in 2005, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, and his world ranking went to No. 3. Nadal won 11 singles titles that year, eight of which were on clay, and he was soon dubbed the "King of Clay."

Hitting His Stride

Nadal went on to win the next three French Opens. After winning the French Open in 2006— despite both shoulder and foot injuries—he won four other titles. The following year, he won again at Roland Garros, and took home five other titles. Nadal poured it on in 2008, winning the French Open again, in addition to winning Wimbledon—where he beat longtime rival Roger Federer in the longest final in Wimbledon history—gold at the Beijing Olympics, and five other titles. After Wimbledon, Nadal’s winning streak stood at a career-best 32 matches.

Since 2008, despite being occasionally hampered by injuries, Nadal has been one of the superstars of the tennis world, winning 15 titles and hitting No. 1 in the world-ranking twice (in August 2008 and again in June 2010). As of 2011, he had taken 46 career singles titles and 7 doubles.

Nadal is only the second male player in tennis history to complete the Career Golden Slam—winning the French, Australian, and U.S. Opens; Wimbledon; and the Olympic Gold medal—and has taken the Spanish Davis Cup team to victory four times. Nadal has done it all in tennis, and shows no signs of not doing it all again and again.

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