Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal’s background

Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal is one of the most recognisable sportsmen of his generation. Still very much at the top of his game and winning high profile tournaments each and every season, the Spaniard is one of the top players in the world and has been for years. Ranked never far from the top 5 best players in the world, Rafa is the best clay court player in history, and has dominated on that court type since he first burst onto the international scene. With the nickname “The King of Clay” he has also become a real player on other surfaces and is quite rightfully considered one of the greatest players of all time.

In all, Nadal has picked up no fewer than 14 Grand Slam singles titles, and these include the likes of the 2008 Olympic gold medal in the singles game, as well as 28 titles in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events (which itself is a record tied with fellow great Novak Djokovic), plus 17 ATP World Tour 500 tournaments (again this is a record, this time shared with the great Roger Federer). As well as this, Rafa has also been a part of the side that has won the Davis Cup five times in 2004, 2008, 2009, and again in 2011. He has many other accolades and records to his name including being the sixth person to make more than 100 finals on the ATP World Tour, and being one of only two player to win at least two slams on the three different surfaces.