Rafael Nadal is a famous tennis player, currently ranked second among professional tennis players according to the ATP. “Rafa,” as the player calls himself, is known for his numerous victories on both grass and clay. He won Wimbledon more than once and twice won gold at the Olympic Games.
In 2008, Nadal took first place in the tennis rankings, becoming the youngest athlete to achieve such heights. But the media is interested not only in sports achievements, but also in the biography and personal life of Rafael Nadal.
Tennis player's childhood
Rafael Nadal Parera was born in 1986. His homeland is one of the Balearic Islands, Mallorca. Nadal's family has not experienced financial difficulties since his birth. Rafael's father, Sebastian, was already engaged in business in those years. At the moment he earns 3 million euros a year and owns an insurance business. Mother, Maria Parera, worked in the perfume business before the birth of her son, and with the advent of children she took up housekeeping. Nadal has a younger sister, Maribel.
The future athlete was most lucky with his uncles. Tony Nadal played tennis professionally for a long time, and then founded a tennis club for children in his native Mallorca. It was he who instilled in his nephew a love of sports when he gave 4-year-old Rafa a racket specially made for him.
Fact!
Since 1990, Tony has become Rafael's personal trainer. He still trains the Spanish champion to this day and, thanks to his victories, is considered the most titled coach.
Another uncle, Miguel Angel, played professional football until his career ended in 2005, playing for Mallorca and Barcelona. He also trained his nephew, instilling in him a love for his discipline. Rafa was successfully involved in one and another sport, but at the age of 12 the workload began to increase, which is why his performance at school fell. My father set a requirement: to choose one discipline so as not to harm learning. Rafa settled on tennis.
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Rafael Nadal: personal life and biography facts
Rafael was born in 1986 in the Balearic Islands (Mallorca Island). The boy's father was a businessman, his mother was a housewife. His love for tennis was instilled in him by his uncle named Tony (current coach). We can say that his sports biography began already at the age of three. As a child, Rafael Nadal was a frequent visitor to football stadiums in Spain, where another of the boy’s uncles, Miguel Angel Nadal, played professionally.
Rafael has known his current girlfriend, Maria Pascual, since school. The couple has been together since 2005.
In addition to tennis, Rafael loves to play golf and is a passionate fan of Real Madrid and the Spanish national football team.
Nadal performs in Nike brand equipment. In the early years of his career, he preferred to play in a T-shirt; currently he trains and plays in a regular T-shirt. It is noteworthy that in one season the Spanish tennis player changes several pairs of sneakers, but the right one always bears the name “Rafa”.
The Spanish tennis player is very proud of his native Manacor, where he lived with his parents and sister. At the age of 14, the Spanish Tennis Federation offered the young athlete to move to Barcelona and pay for his training, but Rafael, after consulting with his uncle and coach, decided to stay in his hometown.
The beginning of a sports career and the peak of fame
At the age of 8, Rafael Nadal won the first major victory in his biography and personal life - he won the Spanish children's tennis championship. He switched to professional sports at the age of 15, in 2001. In 2002-2003, the athlete actively participated in competitions and won a number of important victories. So, he beat one of the TOP 10 tennis players, Albert Costa.
Interesting!
The professional community took notice of him, and at the end of the 2002-2003 season, Nadal entered the top 50 singles tennis players and was also recognized as “Rookie of the Year.”
In 2004, an 18-year-old Nadal beat Roger Federer. Then the achievements had to be postponed due to an ankle injury. Despite the injury, at the end of the year the young athlete won the Davis Cup as part of the Spanish national team. He became the youngest tennis player to take first place in this tournament.
In 2005, after a series of victories, Nadal broke into the TOP 10 of the world rankings for the first time. In the same year, he won the French Championship and became the third racket of the world, and a little later he took second place in the ranking. The athlete was again struck by a leg injury, due to which he missed a number of matches in 2005 and 2006.
The peak of his career came in 2008. Nadal won Olympic gold in Beijing and finished the season at number one in the ATP rankings.
Success
The 2005 season brought the young tennis player many victories in clay games, thanks to which Nadal earned the nickname “King of Clay”. He won twenty-four matches in a row, beating such famous and strong opponents as Guillermo Corio, Juan Carlos Ferrero and the legendary Roger Federer, who has been the undisputed leader in most tournaments for many years.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
A phenomenal victory at the French Championship elevated Rafael to third place in the world ranking of tennis players. And his subsequent sixteen wins that season made him number two. At the end of the season, the athlete injured his leg, which is why he was forced to miss the Australian Open in 2006. Due to the fracture, the guy was thinking about leaving his tennis career, but his coach Toni Nadal was able to get the athlete back on his feet and restore his confidence in his strength.
For the next two years, Rafael held second place in the world tennis rankings, losing only to his eternal rival Roger Federer.
2008 was the peak of the young tennis player’s career. Despite a rather bad start to the season, where the athlete was beaten by Mikhail Youzhny, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and other tennis players, in the clay part of the season the “King of Clay” managed to make up for lost time. He won the French Open with ease. He later faced Roger Federer at the most anticipated tournament of the year, Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal at the peak of his career
The tennis players competed in the final, which lasted almost the whole day. In a difficult struggle, Rafael still managed to defeat his longtime rival and take first place not only in the tournament, but in the list of the best tennis players of this year. The Beijing Olympics brought Nadal another big victory and his first gold in such a tournament. At the end of the year, due to a knee injury, Rafael refused to participate in several competitions.
The next year was quite difficult for the athlete. Despite numerous victories in tournaments this year, he also had disappointing defeats in championship finals. Rafael was also plagued by pain in his injured knee, due to which he had to withdraw from several tournaments, in particular the famous Wimbledon. However, troubles did not prevent the tennis player from finishing the season in second place in the rankings.
Rafael Nadal with the cup
In 2010, Nadal again became world number one, losing the title a year later. In 2011, he lost his championship to Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic. A year later, Rafael beat his opponent at the annual French Open, becoming a seven-time champion of the games. At the end of the year, the knee injury made itself felt again, which is why the tennis player refused to participate in the Summer Olympics and several other tournaments.
In 2013, he again became the world number one, beating his main opponent Novak Djokovic several times.
Rafael Nadal - 9-time French Open winner
In 2014, Rafael won the French Open, becoming a nine-time champion of the tournament. He lost Wimbledon, losing first place to young tennis player Nick Kyrgios. At the end of the year he injured his wrist, and later lost the Shanghai Rolex Masters due to problems with appendicitis. That same year, the tennis player retired from playing at the end of the season due to the removal of appendicitis.
In 2020, Nadal won two tournaments: Argentina Open and Mercedes Cup, but lost the championship in the French Open to his eternal rival Novak Djokovic. And although the season has not yet ended, Rafael is currently in tenth position in the ranking.
Rafael Nadal in sports now
Several difficult events have occurred in the biography and personal life of Rafael Nadal since his triumph. Thus, his parents’ divorce in 2009 shook his morale. Luckily, they got back together in 2011. Already in 2008, the tennis player received another injury, due to which he almost lost first place in the ATP rankings.
In 2020, the tennis player withdrew from the French Open due to a wrist injury. Since 2014, for a number of reasons, Nadal stopped reaching the Grand Slam final, but in 2020 he again got into the final match of the tournament and fought Federer.
Nadal is currently ranked second in the ATP rankings. He is second only to Serbian Novak Djokovic. The athlete has 12 victories in the French Open and 2 first places at Wimbledon.
Note!
The absolute record is victory in 35 Masters series tournaments.
Watch Rafael Nadal
In 2010, premium Swiss watch brand Richard Mille announced that it had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal. The model was called Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon. The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at $525,000. Rafael took part in the development and testing of the watch on the tennis court. Their cooperation continues with the release of new models.
The 2020 Richard Mille Rafael Nadal watch already costs $725,000. Design number RM 27-03 can withstand up to 10,000 Gauss, a new threshold for the watch industry. Moreover, they weigh only 34 grams. Paying homage to the flag of Nadal's home country of Spain, the watch features vibrant red and orange hues. Ultra-light and advanced materials are used in the manufacture - “thin layers of quartz only 45 microns thick with tinted resin.”
Personal life of a star
In that part of Rafael Nadal’s biography that concerns his personal life, nothing has changed for many years. While still a teenager, Rafa met through his sister, Maribel, her friend, Maria Perello. In 2005, a romance began between the young people. For some time, the tennis player and his lover hid their relationship, but in the end, the media published several photographs of the couple. Then Rafael and Maria officially announced their relationship.
In 2020, after 13 years of dating, Rafael proposed to Perello. The wedding took place in October 2020. The service staff were contractually prohibited from disclosing details of the wedding, and guests were asked not to bring mobile phones. The wedding took place at the Sa Fortaleza castle, where 350 guests arrived. Among the visitors were the royal couple of Spain, and local tennis stars were also invited.
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Maria Francisca Perello is 2 years younger than her companion. She does not try to be a socialite, avoids many social events, and rarely accompanies her husband at tournaments. As the spouses themselves explain, relationships become much stronger when husband and wife are not glued to each other. It is known that Maria works in the insurance business. She also helps run Rafa's charitable foundation.
The couple plans to have children someday, but nothing has been said about exact dates.
Personal life
In his personal life, Rafael Nadal is distinguished by enviable consistency. In 2005, he began dating a girl, Maria Francesco Perello, whom he met through his sister Alice.
Rafael Nadal with Maria Francesco Perello
The young people hid the affair from journalists for a long time, but over time the press began to notice the athlete’s mother, accompanied by Maria. The girl works at an insurance company and rarely accompanies her boyfriend at championships. In 2020, in an interview, the couple stated that they dreamed of starting a family and having children.
