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Early life
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 uncle, tennis coach Toni Nadal, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old -
Juniors
Nadal won the Spanish junior championships in 1997 and 1998 at the age of 12. His junior results secured Nadal a tennis scholarship in Barcelona. -
2001–2002: Start of professional career
Nadal turned professional at the beginning of 2001, at the age of 14. He reached the semi-finals of the junior singles event at Wimbledon and helped Spain defeat the US in the final of the Junior Davis Cup.
At age 15, Nadal ended 2001 as the world No. 811
Nadal ended 2002 as the world No. 199. -
2003
Ascending to the top 50.
Nadal finished the year 2003 ranked as the world No. 49 -
2004: Davis Cup title
In the 2004 Davis Cup final, 18-year-old Nadal beat world No. 2 Andy Roddick on clay in Spain to help his nation clinch the title over the United States. In doing so at 18 years and six months of age, he became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation. -
2008 Olympic singles gold, and world No. 1
By winning Wimbledon, Nadal became the third man in the Open Era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon.
At the Beijing Olympics, he beat Fernando González in the final to win gold. With the win, Nadal clinched the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, ending Federer's record four-and-a-half-year reign. -
2009: Australian Open and Davis Cup titles
In December, Nadal beat Tomáš Berdych in the Davis Cup final.Spain secured its fourth Davis Cup victory.
Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. -
2010: Majors on all three surfaces, year-end No. 1, and Career Golden Slam
Nadal called 2010 his best year. Djokovic said that Nadal had "the capabilities already to become the best player ever", and that "he has the game now for each surface, and he has won each major. He has proven to the world that he is the best in this moment" -
2013: Two majors and return to No. 1
In November, at the ATP Finals in London, he secured the year-end No. 1 -
2014: Ninth French Open title and sustained injuries
Nadal withdrew from the American swing owing to a wrist injury.
At Shanghai, he was suffering from appendicitis and lost his first match to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. -
2016: Olympic doubles gold medal
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2019: Fourth French-US title double, Davis Cup, and year-end No. 1
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2021: 12th Barcelona Open and 10th Italian Open titles, and injury-shortened season
On 20 August 2021, Nadal announced that would be ending his 2021 season due to the left foot issue that had been troubling him for most of the year. His ranking fell to No.6 due to his injury. -
2023: Injury struggles and exit from top 100 after 20 consecutive years
At the 2023 Australian Nadal was severely hampered by a hip injury. As a result, he exited the Top 10 for the first time since 25 April 2005 on 20 March 2023, ending the longest Top-10 streak in ATP rankings history. -
2024: Return to the tour and retirement
On 10 October 2024, Nadal stated his intention to retire from the sport after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, Spain.
At the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, Nadal gave a speech and a video montage was played of career highlights and personal messages, including from Federer, Djokovic, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, footballer Andrés Iniesta and golfer Sergio García.