Hello and welcome to sportarsh. This article tells the biography, facts, NetWorth and records of tennis great Rafael Nadal. When It comes to tennis Rafael Nadal is no push over. His career records and stats speaks for itself.
A typical example is his 20 Career Grand Slam Singles titles won; a tennis record which ties him with both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Aside this, he remains the only player in tennis with more titles at the French Open (13). His exploits on clay courts earned him the nickname ”king of clay”.
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Rafael Nadal- Part 1
Humble Beginnings
Rafael Nadal came into this world on the 3rd day of June 1986. Growing up as a child, he lived together with his parents along with his younger sister in Mallorca, Spain. Talking about his parents, Nadal’s father is a businessman who owns three businesses.
He has an insurance company, a glass and window company and a restaurant. Many might not know but Rafael Nadal’s first interest in sports was in Football. This was because his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal by then was a professional footballer playing for Mallorca. It was through his uncle that he got to meet his football idol Ronaldo ( the Brazilian).
One might ask ” so if his interest was in football how then did he turn up to be a tennis star ”? Well he had another uncle by name Toni Nadal. As a tennis coach himself, he spotted Nadal’s natural talent and introduced him to the game of tennis when Nadal was just 3 years old.
With his guidance and training, Rafael Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at the age of 8. It was at this point that his uncle decided to intensify his training. At age 12, his uncle encouraged him to participate in the Spanish and European tennis championships. Nadal eventually went on to win the competition.
Although he was participating in tennis competitions, he was still actively involved in football. His father gave him an option to choose between either football or tennis. His reasons was to enable Nadal concentrate much on school work. Rafael Nadal chose tennis and that marked the beginning of greatness.
Turning Professional
Rafael Nadal turned professional in 2001 at age 15. A year later, he participated in the ATP and won his first match against former professional tennis player Ramón Delgado. He became the 9th tennis player in the Open era to have achieved the feat. Despite this, he finished the year with no titles or finals appearances.
Rather, it took four good years for him to finally win his first ever grand slam singles title. By so doing, he set the record for being the first teenager to win the grand slam since Pete Sampras won it in 1990. Another record he set was becoming the second male player to win the French Open in his first attempt. The year 2005 was indeed a breakthrough year for Nadal. In 2005 alone, he won eleven singles titles and four Masters titles.
Rafael Nadal – Part 2
Family:
Mother and Father
Rafael Nadal’s mother goes by name Ana María Parera. She was born in Manacor, Spain. Back in Manacor her family owned a furniture business but she decided not to involve herself in the family business. Instead she started her own perfume company. As we speak she is currently the president of the Rafa Nadal foundation. A foundation set-up by Nadal himself in 2010 to help disadvantaged youth in Spain and India.
For his father, he is called Sebastián Nadal. Rafael Nadal’s father is a respectable business man. As stated earlier above, he owns an insurance company and a restaurant. Also he is a board member of a private investment firm called Mabel Capital. Interestingly, the investment firm is co- owned by his son and two others ( Abel Matutes Prats and Manuel Campos Guallar ).
In 2009 news broke that his parents have separated from each other. For a while, it affected Nadal performances on the court. But everything went back to normal when his parents decided to give themselves another chance at marriage. The couple came back in 2011 and have since been together.
Sister
Rafael Nadal’s only sister goes by name María Isabel Nadal. She was born in 1989 and is the last child and only girl of her parents. Just like her brother, she also has an interest in sports. And as we speak, holds a master’s degree in Sports Management. Maria is particularly close to Nadal as she can be seen mostly in the stands cheering on her brother.
They are so close that Nadal even met his wife through the help of his sister Maria. According to reports, Maria introduced her friend to Nadal in 2003, and in 2005, they had already started dating. Maria currently works at the marketing department of his brother’s “Rafa Nadal Academy”.
Uncles
Per information gathered by sportarsh, Rafael Nadal has two uncles. One is a professional tennis coach and the other is a former professional footballer. For the professional tennis coach, his name is Toni Nadal. He is the one who introduced Nadal to tennis. In fact he served as Nadal’s coach from 1990 up to 2017. To clear all doubts, Nadal didn’t sack his uncle. Rather is was Toni who decided to retire from Nadal’s coaching staff. The two are on good terms as Toni is even planning on working at his nephew’s “Rafa Nadal Academy”.
Now to the former professional footballer. He goes by name Miguel Ángel Nadal. During his playing career, he played for two teams (Barcelona and Mallorca). He is partly responsible for Nadal’s interest in football. As a kid, Nadal idolised Ronaldo Nazário and his dream of meeting him came true through the help of his uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal.
Girlfriend/Wife
I must say Rafael Nadal is a gentleman. Unlike many, Rafael Nadal doesn’t have a tall list of girlfriends. We all know superstars love to flaunt women here and there but Nadal is different. He met his girlfriend through his sister Maria in 2003. Two years later the friendship grew as they began going out. At the time they began seeing each other, both where 17 and 19 respectively, with Nadal being the oldest.
Nadal got married to her in January of 2019 after more than 14 years of knowing her. Rafael Nadal’s wife is called Maria Francisca Perello. During the wedding ceremony, notable guests were present including former king of Spain, Juan Carlos 1. She is currently the project Director of Strategy and Relations at her husband’s foundation ( Rafa Nadal foundation).
Bestfriend
“Rafael Nadal doesn’t like to make changes in his life”. This statement was made by his best friend Salva-Vidal. And from the looks of things, it seems to be true. A typical example is he sticking to his uncle Toni( his former coach) for more than 26 years. Interestingly, Nadal and Slavia share the same birth year (1986). The only difference is that Nadal was born in the month of June while Salva in the month of November.
The pair first met as children at a junior event in Manacor. Slavia played against Nadal in the second round, he lost to Nadal 0-6, 0-6. Slavia realized Nadal was better than him in all aspects. So inorder to be better himself he decided to become friends with Nadal. They started training and practising together and from there became close friends.
Cars
It seems almost all superstars are interested in cars. Nadal has actually utilized his millions earned from tennis very well. He has 4 impressive sports cars. Ordinarily, most of us can only dream of having them. According to his mother, Nadal is very cautious when driving as he wouldn’t even try to overtake anyone. Nadal’s cars can be seen below.
House
The tennis star has two houses. One is in Mallorca and the other is in the Dominican Republic. The one in Mallorca is a mansion worth around €4 million while the one in the Dominican Republic is a luxury villa worth closely $2 million. He mostly stays in his mansion at Mallorca and only chooses the villa when he needs some vacation.
At his house in Mallorca, he doesn’t eat and sleep only. Rather, he has installed a gym to help him keep fit. During the lockdown, as a result of the COVID 19, he posted few pictures of himself training and playing tennis with his wife.
Pets
Rafael Nadal currently has no pets. He is very afraid of animals especially dogs. In his autobiography released in 2010, he stated ” I doubt their intentions”. For a man with no fears on the tennis court, this is quite laughable. See how he holds a fan’s dog leash in the picture below.
Zodiac
Rafael Nadal is a Gemini. It is the third sign of the Zodiac and people born between May 21 to June 20 usually fall under this. The Gemini symbol can be seen below.
Religion
Rafael Nadal is not a Muslim, Christian nor any other religion you could think of. Instead he is an agnostic atheist. Agnostic atheists are people who don’t believe in the existence of a deity or a supernatural being. Furthermore, they believe the existence of the said deity is unknown or cannot be found.
it’s hard to say I don’t believe in God. I would love to know if God exists. But it’s a very difficult thing for me to believe.. I say, if God exists you don’t need to cross yourself or pray. If God exists he is intelligent enough to do the important things, the right things.
Rafael nadal Rafael Nadal – Part 3
Records
Rafael Nadal has a tall list of impressive records. Only the important and relevant ones are listed below.
- Nadal has been to 28 Grand Slam tournament finals and won 20 titles, from which 8 are runners up finishes.
- Rafael Nadal is one of the few to win an Olympic Gold medal ( Golden Slam).
- He is a joint record holder of 20 men’s singles titles ( with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic)
- Rafael solely holds the record for 13 men’s singles titles at one Major ( French Open)
- He is the youngest player in tennis to achieve 24 career Grand Slams.
- He holds the record for 7 finals reached without losing a set.
- Also, he holds the record for wining four straight titles without losing a set.
Endorsement and NetWorth
According to celebritynetworth, Rafael Nadal has an estimated net worth value of $200m. Nadal brings home $40 million every year from tennis winnings and endorsements. In terms of endorsements, he is sponsored by the likes of Kia motors, Nike and Quely. The latter is a company in his hometown ( Mallorca) which produces biscuits, bakery and chocolate-coated products.
Charity Works
Rafael Nadal has a foundation created for the sole purpose of helping under privileged children in Spain and India. The Fundación Rafa Nadal was formed in 2007 and presented in 2008 at the Manacor tennis club in Spain. When asked why he decided to set up a foundation, this is what he said;
This can be the beginning of my future, when I retire and have more time. I am doing very well and I owe society. A month-and-a-half ago I was in Chennai, in India. The truth is we live great here.I can contribute something with my image
Rafael NadalAside his own foundation he supports other charitable organizations like Harvest, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and Small Steps Project.
Followers
Sportarsh decided to look into the numbers racked up by Rafa Nadal on his Socials. Across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the tennis star has an average of over 12 million followers. Check below pictures.
To wrap it up
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