Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal
	Nadal in 2012
Full name	Rafael Nadal Parera
Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Manacor, Mallorca, Spain
Born	3 June 1986; Manacor, Mallorca, Spain
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	2001
Plays	Left-handed (two-handed backhand), born right-handed
Coach	Toni Nadal (2005–2017); Francisco Roig (2005–); Carlos Moyá (2016–)
Prize money	US$120,955,904 3rd all-time leader in earnings;
Official website	rafaelnadal.com
Singles
Career record	990–200 (83.2% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup; 1st in the Open Era)
Career titles	85 (4th in the Open Era)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (18 August 2008)
Current ranking	No. 2 (3 February 2020)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2009)
French Open	W (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)
Wimbledon	W (2008, 2010)
US Open	W (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	F (2010, 2013)
Olympic Games	W (2008)
Doubles
Career record	137–74 (64.9% in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	11
Highest ranking	No. 26 (8 August 2005)
Current ranking	No. 436 (16 March 2020)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	3R (2004, 2005)
Wimbledon	2R (2005)
US Open	SF (2004)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	W (2016)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2019)
Representing Spain
Men's Tennis
	Last updated on: 16 March 2020.

Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera (Catalan: [rəf(ə)ˈɛl nəˈðal pəˈɾeɾə], Spanish: [rafaˈel naˈðal paˈɾeɾa];[2] born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 2 in men's singles tennis by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).[3]

Nadal has won 19 Grand Slam singles titles, the second-most in history for a male player, as well as a record 35 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles, 21 ATP Tour 500 titles and the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles. In addition, Nadal has held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 209 weeks, including being the year-end No. 1 five times.[3] In majors, Nadal has won a record twelve French Open titles, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and one Australian Open title, and won at least one Grand Slam every year for a record ten consecutive years (2005–2014). Nadal has won 85 career titles overall, including the most outdoor titles in the Open Era (83) and a record 59 titles on clay. With 81 consecutive wins on clay, Nadal holds the record for the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.

Nadal has been involved in five Davis Cup titles with Spain, and currently has a 29-win streak and 29–1 record in singles matches at the event. In 2010, at the age of 24, he became the seventh male player and the youngest of five in the Open Era to achieve the singles Career Grand Slam. Nadal is the second male player after Andre Agassi to complete the singles Career Golden Slam, as well as the second male player after Mats Wilander to have won at least two Grand Slams on all three surfaces (grass, hard court and clay). He has received the tour Sportsmanship Award three times and has been named the ATP Player of the Year five times and the ITF World Champion four times. In 2011, Nadal was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.[4]

Early life

Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, a town on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, Spain, to parents Ana María Parera Femenías and Sebastián Nadal Homar. His father is a businessman, owner of an insurance company, glass and window company Vidres Mallorca, and the restaurant, Sa Punta. Rafael has a younger sister, María Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Ángel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team.[5] He idolized Barcelona striker Ronaldo as a child, and via his uncle got access to the Barcelona dressing room to have a photo with the Brazilian.[6] Recognizing in Rafael a natural talent, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a tennis coach, introduced him to the game when he was three years old.[7]

At age 8, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player.[8] This made Toni Nadal intensify training, and it was at that time that his uncle encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, after studying Nadal's then two-handed forehand stroke.[8]

At age 12, Nadal won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group, while also playing football.[8] Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not deteriorate entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."[8]

When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation requested that Nadal leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. His family turned down this request, partly because they feared his education would suffer,[8] but also because Toni said that "I don't want to believe that you have to go to America, or other places to be a good athlete. You can do it from your home."[7] The decision to stay home meant less financial support from the federation; instead, Nadal's father covered the costs. In May 2001, he defeated former Grand Slam tournament champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.[5]

Professional tennis career

2001–2004: Early career and Davis Cup title

Nadal turned professional at age 15,[9] and participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. On 29 April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the world No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado,[10] and became the ninth player in the Open Era to do so before the age of 16.[11]

In 2001, Nadal finished the year with a Challenger series record of 1–1 in singles with no titles or finals appearances. He did not participate in any doubles Challengers events. At ITF Futures, Nadal's record was 7–5 in singles and 1–2 in doubles, with no titles or finals appearances.[12]

In 2002, aged 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boys' Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.[13] In the same year, he helped Spain defeat the US in the final of the Junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit.[13][14] Nadal's Challenger level record in 2002 was 4–2 in singles with no titles. He did not participate in any doubles Challengers events. Nadal finished the year with a Futures record of 40–9 in singles and 10–9 in doubles. He won 6 singles tournaments at this level, including 5 on clay and 1 on hard courts. He did not reach any doubles finals.[15][16]

Nadal also entered the clay-court Mallorca Open, part of the ATP International Series, at the end of April as a wildcard, where he participated in both singles and doubles. In singles, Nadal won his first ever ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado in the Round of 32. He then was defeated in the Round of 16 by Olivier Rochus.[15] In doubles, Nadal and his partner, Bartolomé Salvá Vidal, were defeated in the first round by David Adams and Simon Aspelin.[17]

Rafael Nadal singles-ranking history chart through January 2020

Singles ranking composite history chart through January 2020 (Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic)

In 2003, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year ranked No. 49. He won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. In his Wimbledon debut in 2003, he became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.[18] After Wimbledon Nadal participated at Bastad, where he lost to Nicolas Lapentti in the quarterfinals, and at Stuttgart, where he lost to Fernando Gonzalez in the Round of 32. Finally, at Umag, he lost to Carlos Moya in the semifinals.

After playing two more Challenger level events, the last Challenger tournaments of his career, Nadal finished his 2003 campaign with three first round losses in ATP events.[12] Nadal also competed in seven doubles tournaments in 2003, and won his first ATP title (doubles or singles) at the clay-court Croatia Open in Umag, where he partnered with Álex López Morón to defeat Todd Perry and Thomas Shimada in straight sets in the final.[19]

2004 started with a doubles championship alongside Tommy Robredo at the Maharashtra Open.[20] In singles, Nadal reached the third round of the 2004 Australian Open where he lost in three sets against Australian Lleyton Hewitt. Later that year, the 34th-ranked 17-year-old played the first of many matches against Roger Federer, then ranked No. 1, at the Miami Open, and won in straight sets,[21][22] before losing to Fernando González in the fourth round. He was one of the six players who defeated Federer that year (along with Tim Henman, Albert Costa, Gustavo Kuerten, Dominik Hrbatý, and Tomáš Berdych). He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle.[5] In August, Nadal won his first ATP singles title at the Prokom Open by defeating José Acasuso in the final in two sets.[23]

Nadal, at 18 years and six months, became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation.[24] By beating No. 2 Andy Roddick, he helped Spain clinch the 2004 title over the United States in a 3–2 win. He finished the year ranked No. 51.

2005: First Grand Slam title

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, he reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by No. 1 Roger Federer. Both performances were considered breakthroughs for Nadal.[25][26]

He then dominated the spring clay-court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, breaking Andre Agassi's Open Era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager.[27] Nadal won the Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona and beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to No. 5[28] and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open. On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in the 2005 French Open semifinals, being one of only four players to defeat the top-seeded player that year (along with Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet, and David Nalbandian). Two days later, he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second male player, after Mats Wilander in 1982, to win the French Open on his first attempt. He was the first teenager to win a Grand Slam singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19.[5] Winning improved his ranking to No. 3.[28]

Three days after his victory in Paris, Nadal's 24-match winning streak was snapped in the first round of the grass court Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he lost to Alexander Waske.[29] He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to Gilles Müller of Luxembourg. Immediately after Wimbledon, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, bringing his ranking to No. 2 on 25 July 2005. Nadal started his North American summer hard-court season by defeating Agassi in the final of the 2005 Canada Masters, but lost in the first round of the 2005 Cincinnati Masters. Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open, but was upset in the third round by No. 49 James Blake in four sets.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented his competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.[30]

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage record of nine in 1983.[31] Nine of Nadal's titles were on clay, and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005, with eleven 6–0 sets during the year.[32] Also, he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

2006: Second French Open title

Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury.[33] In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open (in 2006, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were the only two men who defeated Federer). To complete the spring hard-court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

On European clay, Nadal won all four tournaments he entered and 24 consecutive matches. He defeated Federer in the final of the Masters Series Monte Carlo in four sets. The following week, he defeated Tommy Robredo in the final of the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. After a one-week break, Nadal won the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreaker in the final, after saving two match points and equaling Björn Borg's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. Nadal broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by winning his first round match at the French Open. Vilas presented Nadal with a trophy, but commented later that Nadal's feat was less impressive than his own because Nadal's winning streak covered two years and was accomplished by adding easy tournaments to his schedule.[34] Nadal went on to play Federer in the final of the French Open. The first two sets of the match were hardly competitive, as the rivals traded 6–1 sets. Nadal won the third set easily and served for the match in the fourth set before Federer broke him and forced a tiebreaker. Nadal won the tiebreaker and became the first to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam tournament final.[35]

2006 French Open champion

Nadal injured his shoulder during a quarterfinal match against Lleyton Hewitt at the Artois Championships, played on grass at the Queen's Club in London.[36] Nadal was unable to complete the match, which ended his 26-match winning streak. Nadal was seeded second at Wimbledon, and was two points from defeat against American qualifier Robert Kendrick in the second round before coming back to win in five sets. In the third round, Nadal defeated No. 20 Andre Agassi in straight sets in Agassi's last career match at Wimbledon. Nadal also won his next three matches in straight sets, which set up his first Wimbledon final, which was against Federer, who had won this tournament the three previous years. Nadal was the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966, to reach the Wimbledon final, but Federer won the match in four sets to win his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.

During the lead up to the US Open, Nadal played the two Masters Series tournaments in North America. He was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. Nadal was seeded second at the US Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia in four sets.

Nadal played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson, ranked No. 690, upset Nadal in the second round of the Stockholm Open. The following week, Nadal lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the year's last Masters Series tournament, the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid. During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup, Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Because of those two victories, Nadal qualified for the semifinals, where he lost to Federer. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer.

Nadal went on to become the first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year ranked No. 2 in consecutive years.

2007: Third French Open title

Nadal started the year by playing in six hard-court tournaments. He lost in the semifinals and first round of his first two tournaments and then lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to eventual runner-up Fernando González. After another quarterfinal loss at the Dubai Tennis Championships, he won the 2007 Indian Wells Masters, before Novak Djokovic defeated him in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Miami Masters.

He had comparatively more success after returning to Europe to play five clay-court tournaments. He won the titles at the Masters Series Monte Carlo, the Open Sabadell Atlántico in Barcelona, and the Masters Series Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of the Masters Series Hamburg. This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay, which is the male Open Era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He then rebounded to win the French Open for the third straight year, defeating Federer once again in the final. Between the tournaments in Barcelona and Rome, Nadal defeated Federer in the "Battle of Surfaces" exhibition match in Mallorca, Spain, with the tennis court being half grass and half clay.[37]

Nadal played the Artois Championships at the Queen's Club in London for the second consecutive year. As in 2006, Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals. Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in the five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001.[38] In July, Nadal won the clay court Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, which proved to be his last title of the year. He played three important tournaments during the North American summer hard court season. He was a semifinalist at the Masters Series Rogers Cup in Montreal before losing his first match at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. He was the second-seeded player at the US Open, but was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer.

After a month-long break from tournament tennis, Nadal played the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid and the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. David Nalbandian upset him in the quarterfinals and final of those tournaments. To end the year, Nadal won two of his three-round robin matches to advance to the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him in straight sets.

During the second half of the year, Nadal battled a knee injury suffered during the Wimbledon final. In addition, there were rumors at the end of the year that the foot injury he suffered during 2005, caused long-term damage, which were given credence by coach Toni Nadal's claim that the problem was "serious". Nadal and his spokesman strongly denied this, however, with Nadal himself calling the story "totally false".[39]

2008: Two majors, Olympic gold, second Davis Cup, No. 1 ranking

Nadal began the year in India, where he was comprehensively beaten by Mikhail Youzhny in the final of the Chennai Open. Nadal then reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Nadal in the semifinal of 2008 Australian Open. Nadal also reached the final of the Miami Masters for the second time.

During the spring clay-court season, Nadal won four singles titles and defeated Roger Federer in three finals. He beat Federer at the Masters Series Monte Carlo for the third straight year, capturing his Open Era record fourth consecutive title there.[40] Nadal then won his fourth consecutive title at the Open Sabadell Atlántico tournament in Barcelona. A few weeks later, Nadal won his first title at the Masters Series Hamburg, defeating Federer in a three-set final. He then won the French Open, becoming the fifth man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set.[41] He defeated Federer in the final for the third straight year, but this was the most lopsided of all their matches, as Nadal only lost four games and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999.[40] This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Björn Borg's all-time record. Nadal became the fourth male player during Open era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament four consecutive years (the others being Borg, Pete Sampras, and Federer).

Nadal then played Federer in the final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry.[42][43] Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at the Artois Championships staged at the Queen's Club in London prior to Wimbledon. Federer had won his record fifth grass-court title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, and then reached the Wimbledon final without losing a set. Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, though, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win.[43][44] They played the longest (in terms of time on court, not in terms of numbers of games) final in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won the fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. (The 2019 final later broke the record of longest Wimbledon final.) The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with some tennis critics even calling it the greatest match in tennis history.[45][46][47][48][49]

By winning his first Wimbledon title, Nadal became the third man in the open era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, after Rod Laver in 1969, and Borg in 1978–1980, (Federer later accomplished this the following year) as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's record streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. This was also the first time that Nadal won two Grand Slam tournaments back-to-back.

After Wimbledon, Nadal extended his winning streak to a career-best 32 matches. He won his second Rogers Cup title in Toronto, and then made it into the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati. As a result, Nadal clinched the US Open Series and, combined with Federer's early-round losses in both of those tournaments, finally earned the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, officially ending Federer's record four-and-a-half-year reign at the top.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nadal defeated Fernando González of Chile in the final to win his first Olympic gold medal.[50]

At the US Open, Nadal was the top-seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament. He did not lose a set during his first three matches, defeating qualifiers in the first and second rounds and Viktor Troicki in the third round. In the semifinals, he lost to Andy Murray. Later in the year in Madrid, Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

At the Mutua Madrileña Masters in Madrid, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Gilles Simon. However, his performance at the event guaranteed that he would become the first Spaniard during the open era to finish the year ranked No. 1.[51] Two weeks later at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he withdrew because of a knee injury.[52] The following week, Nadal announced his withdrawal from the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, citing tendinitis of the knee. On 10 November, Nadal withdrew from Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina, as his knee injury had not healed completely.[53]

2009: Australian Open and Davis Cup titles

Nadal's first official ATP tour event for the year was the 250 series Qatar Open in Doha, where he lost in the quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils. Nadal also entered and won the tournament's doubles event with partner Marc López, defeating the No. 1-ranked doubles team of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. At the 2009 Australian Open, Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals in the second longest match in Australian Open history at 5 hours and 14 minutes.[54] This win set up a championship match with Roger Federer, their first meeting ever in a hard-court Grand Slam tournament. Nadal defeated Federer in five sets to earn his first hard-court Grand Slam singles title,[55] making him the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open.[56]

At the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Nadal lost in the final to second-seeded Andy Murray in three sets.[57] Although this knee problem was not associated with Nadal's right-knee tendonitis, it was serious enough to cause him to withdraw from the Dubai Championships a week later.[58] In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Serbia in a Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on clay in Benidorm, Spain. Nadal defeated Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic.[59][60] At the 2009 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal won his thirteenth Masters 1000 series tournament, defeating Murray in the final. The next ATP tour event was the 2009 Miami Masters. Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals, where he again faced Argentinian del Potro, this time losing the match.[61]

Nadal began his European clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he defeated Novak Djokovic to win a record fifth consecutive singles title there.[62] He then won back to back titles in Barcelona and Rome Masters, defeating Ferrer and Djokovic respectively.[63][64] He then surprisingly lost the final of the Madrid Open to Roger Federer. This was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer since the semifinals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup.

Nadal at 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, Florida, United States

By beating Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of the French Open, Nadal set a record of 31 consecutive wins at the French Open, beating the previous record of 28 by Björn Borg. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009, when Nadal lost to eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. This was Nadal's first and, until 2015, only loss at the French Open. After his surprise defeat in France, Nadal withdrew from the AEGON Championships. It was confirmed that he was suffering from tendinitis in both of his knees.[65] On 19 June, Nadal withdrew from the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, citing his recurring knee injury.[66] Roger Federer went on to win the title, and Nadal consequently dropped back to No. 2 on 6 July 2009.

On 4 August, Toni Nadal confirmed that Nadal would return to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.[67] There, he lost in the quarterfinals to Juan Martín del Potro.[68] With this loss, he relinquished the No. 2 spot to Andy Murray on 17 August 2009, ranking outside the top two for the first time since 25 July 2005.

At the US Open Nadal fell in the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro.[69] At the World Tour Finals, Nadal lost all three of his matches against Robin Söderling, Nikolay Davydenko, and Novak Djokovic respectively without winning a set. In December, Nadal participated in the second Davis Cup final of his career. He defeated Tomáš Berdych in his first singles rubber to give the Spanish Davis Cup Team their first point in the tie. After the Spanish Davis Cup team had secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career.

Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for the third time in 2009, with nine 6–0 sets during the year.

2010: Grand Slam titles on three surfaces and Career Golden Slam

Nadal has called 2010 his best year as a professional tennis player. The 2010 tennis season Nadal became the only male player in tennis history to win Grand Slam tournaments on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard court) the same calendar year.

Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling in straight sets.[70] Nadal participated in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals to Nikolay Davydenko.[71][71] In the Australian Open, Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he had to pull out at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray.[72] After examining Nadal's knees, doctors told him that he should take two weeks of rest, and then two weeks of rehabilitation.

Nadal at the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, Spain

Nadal reached the semifinals in singles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, where he was defeated by Ivan Ljubičić in three sets.[73] After Indian Wells, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Sony Ericsson Open, where he lost to eventual champion Andy Roddick in three sets.[74] Nadal won the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, beating Fernando Verdasco in the final. With this win, Nadal became the first player in the open era to win a tournament title for six straight years.[75] Nadal next chose to skip the Barcelona tournament, and his next tournament was the Rome Masters. He defeated David Ferrer in the final for his fifth title at Rome. Nadal then won the 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, defeating Roger Federer in straight sets. The win gave him his 18th Masters title, breaking the all-time record. Nadal moved back to No. 2 the following day.

Entering the French Open, many were expecting another Nadal-Federer final. However, Robin Söderling defeated Federer in the quarterfinals.[76] Nadal advanced to the final and defeated Söderling in straight sets. The victory marked the second time that Nadal had won the French Open without dropping a set.

In June, Nadal entered the AEGON Championships, which he had won in 2008. He was defeated by compatriot Feliciano López in the quarterfinals. At the Wimbledon Championships, he won his first two matches in straight sets. In the third round he needed five sets to defeat Philipp Petzschner. During the match Nadal was warned twice for allegedly receiving coaching from his coach and uncle, Toni Nadal, resulting in a $2,000 fine by Wimbledon officials.[77][78] He then defeated Andy Murray in the semifinals and Tomáš Berdych in the final to win his second Wimbledon title and his eighth career major title[79] just past the age of 24.[80]

In his first tournament since Wimbledon, Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup, where he was defeated by Andy Murray.[81] Nadal also competed in the doubles with Djokovic in a high-profile partnership between the world Nos. 1 and 2.[82] The pair lost in the first round to Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil. The next week, Nadal was the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, losing in the quarterfinals to Marcos Baghdatis.

At the 2010 US Open, Nadal reached his first final without dropping a set. In the final, he defeated Novak Djokovic in four sets, completing the Career Grand Slam for Nadal; he also became the second male after Andre Agassi to complete a Career Golden Slam.[83] Nadal's US Open victory meant that he also became the first man to win majors on clay, grass, and hard courts in the same year, and the first to win the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.[84] Nadal's victory also clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for 2010.[85]

Nadal began his Asian tour at the 2010 PTT Thailand Open in Bangkok where he lost to compatriot Guillermo García-López in the semifinals. Nadal was able to regroup, winning the 2010 Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo by defeating Gaël Monfils for his seventh title of the season. Nadal next played in the Shanghai Rolex Masters, where he lost to No. 12 Jürgen Melzer in the third round. On 5 November, Nadal announced that he was pulling out of the Paris Masters owing to tendinitis in his left shoulder.[86] On 21 November 2010, in London, Nadal won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award for the first time.[87]

At the 2010 ATP World Tour Finals in London, Nadal won all of his round-robin matches. In the semifinal, he defeated Murray in three sets, before losing to Roger Federer in the final.[88]

2011: Sixth French Open title and Davis Cup crown

Nadal started 2011 by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. In the final, he won over Roger Federer. At the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, he fell in straight sets Nikolay Davydenko in the semifinals.[89] He and countryman López won the doubles title by defeating Daniele Bracciali and Andreas Seppi.[90]

Nadal at the 2011 Australian Open

In the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Nadal suffered a hamstring injury against David Ferrer early in the pair's quarterfinal match and ultimately lost in straight sets, thus ending his effort to win four major tournaments in a row.[91]

In March, Nadal helped Spain defeat Belgium in a 2011 Davis Cup World Group first-round tie in the Spiroudome in Charleroi, Belgium. Nadal defeated Ruben Bemelmans and Olivier Rochus.[92][93] At both the 2011 BNP Paribas Open and the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open, Nadal reached the final and lost to Novak Djokovic in three sets.[94][95] This was the first time Nadal reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year.

Nadal began his clay-court season by winning the 2011 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters with the loss of just one set. In the final, he avenged his defeat by David Ferrer in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.[96] Just a week later, Nadal won his sixth Barcelona Open crown, again defeating Ferrer in straight sets. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters and Madrid Open finals.[97] However, Nadal retained his No. 1 ranking during the clay-court season and won his sixth French Open title by defeating Roger Federer.[98]

At Wimbledon, Nadal reached the final after three four-set matches. This set up a final against No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who had beaten Nadal in all four of their matches in 2011. After dropping the third set, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the fourth. Djokovic's success at the tournament also meant that the Serb overtook Nadal as world No. 1. After resting for a month from a foot injury sustained during Wimbledon, he contested the 2011 Rogers Cup, where he was beaten by Croatian Ivan Dodig in the quarterfinals. He next played in the 2011 Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Mardy Fish, again in the quarterfinals.

At the 2011 US Open, Nadal made headlines when after defeating David Nalbandian in the fourth round, he collapsed in his post-match press conference because to severe cramps.[99] He again lost in four sets to Novak Djokovic in the final. After the US Open, Nadal made the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships. Nadal, who was the 2010 champion, was defeated by Andy Murray. At the Shanghai Masters, he was upset in the third round by No. 23 ranked Florian Mayer. At the 2011 ATP World Tour Finals, Nadal was defeated by Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the round-robin stage, and was subsequently eliminated from the tournament. In the Davis Cup final in December, he helped Spain win the title with victories over Juan Mónaco and Juan Martín del Potro.[100]

2012: Seventh French Open title

Nadal began his ATP World Tour season at the Qatar Open. In the semifinal he lost to Gaël Monfils in two sets.[101] In the Australian Open Nadal won his first four matches without dropping a set. He then won in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches against Tomáš Berdych and Roger Federer respectively. In the final, on 29 January, he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in a five-set match that lasted 5 hours and 53 minutes, the longest Grand Slam final of all time.[102]

Nadal made it to the semifinals in Indian Wells, where he was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Roger Federer. He also made the semifinals in Miami, but withdrew because of knee problems.

As the clay court season started, Nadal was seeded 2nd at the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. In the final he topped No. 1 Novak Djokovic to win his 8th consecutive Monte Carlo trophy. This ended a streak of seven straight final losses to Djokovic. A day after the Monte Carlo final, Nadal traveled to Barcelona where he received a bye in the first round. His tremendous record on clay continued as he beat compatriot David Ferrer in a three-set final to clinch his seventh title in eight years at the Barcelona Open. At the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open Nadal surprisingly lost to Fernando Verdasco, whom he held a 13–0 record against. He heavily criticized the new blue-colored clay and threatened not to attend in the future if the surface was not changed back to red clay. Several other players such as Novak Djokovic voiced similar criticism.[103] In the last tournament before the French Open, Nadal defeated Djokovic in a tight straight set final. This was his second victory over Novak Djokovic in 2012 and his third title of the season, as well as his 6th Rome title overall.

At the 2012 French Open, Nadal dropped only 30 games against his first five opponents. In the semifinals he dismantled Ferrer to set up another final against Novak Djokovic. This marked the first time two opposing players faced each other in four consecutive Grand Slam finals. Nadal won the first two sets before Djokovic claimed the third. Play was suspended in the fourth set due to rain. When the match resumed the following day, Nadal won when Djokovic double faulted on match point, sealing a record 7th French Open title for Nadal.[104] By winning his seventh title[105] at Stade Roland Garros, Nadal surpassed Borg's overall titles record[106] to become the most successful male player in French Open history.[107] Nadal lost a total of only three sets in the 2012 clay court season.

As a warm-up ahead of Wimbledon Nadal played in Halle, losing to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarterfinals.[108] At Wimbledon, Nadal was upset in the second round by Lukáš Rosol in a close five-set match. This was the first time since the Wimbledon 2005 championships that Nadal had failed to progress past the 2nd round of a Grand Slam tournament.[109]

In July 2012, Nadal withdrew from the 2012 Olympics owing to tendinitis in his knee, which subsequently led to him pulling out of both the Rogers Cup and the Cincinnati Masters. He later withdrew from the rest of the 2012 season, as he felt he still was not healthy enough to compete.[110][111] Nadal ended 2012 ranked No. 4 in the world, the first time in eight years that he has not been ranked 1st or 2nd at the end of the year.

2013: Two major titles, back to No. 1

Two weeks prior to the Australian Open, Nadal officially withdrew from the tournament citing a stomach virus.[112] Nadal's withdrawal saw him drop out of the ATP's Top Four for the first time since 2005.[113] Playing in his first tournaments in South America since 2005, Nadal made his comeback at the VTR Open in Chile,[114] where he was upset by Argentine No. 73 Horacio Zeballos in the final. At the Brasil Open, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated David Nalbandian.[115] In the title match of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nadal defeated David Ferrer, losing just two games in the match.

Nadal at the 2013 BNP Paribas Open

Nadal then returned to the American hard courts, playing the Indian Wells Masters as the fifth seed. He lost only one set, and defeated No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 6 Tomáš Berdych before beating Juan Martín del Potro in the final. After withdrawing from Miami, Nadal attempted to defend his title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets. He then won his eight title at the Barcelona Open. Nadal went on to win the Mutua Madrid Open, beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final.

Nadal at the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open

In May, he defeated Roger Federer for his 7th championship at the 2013 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to No. 4.

Nadal won the 2013 French Open after beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and David Ferrer in the final, breaking the record for the most match wins in the tournament in the process with his 59th match victory.[116] His match with Djokovic is widely considered one of the greatest clay court matches ever played, as Nadal came back from down a break in the fifth set to take out a hard-fought 4-hour, 37-minute victory. Nadal then lost his first-round match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets to unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked No. 135), the first time he had ever lost in the first round of a Grand Slam.

In August, Nadal won a close semifinal match in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title.[117] Nadal proceeded to win the title after beating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets.[118] He won his 26th ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Sunday 18 August after beating John Isner in the final.[119] Nadal concluded a brilliant North American hard court season with his 4th hard court title of the year, defeating Djokovic at the 2013 US Open final in four sets, bringing his Grand Slam count to 13 and giving him a male tennis record paycheck of $3.6 million.[120][121]

Later in September, Nadal helped Spain secure their Davis Cup World Group Playoff spot for 2014, with a victory against Sergiy Stakhovsky and a doubles win with Marc Lopez. In October, he reached the final of the China Open, guaranteeing he would be back to the No. 1 ranking.[122] In the final, he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets.[123] At the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he reached the semifinals but was defeated by Del Potro. In November, Nadal played his final event of the season in London at the 2013 ATP World Tour Finals where he secured the year-end No. 1 spot. He beat David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomáš Berdych in the round robin stage to set up a semifinal victory over Roger Federer. Nadal met Djokovic in the final, losing in straight sets.

2014: Ninth French Open title and injuries

Rafael Nadal began his 2014 season at the Qatar Open in Doha, defeating Lukáš Rosol in the first round[124] and he won the title after defeating Gaël Monfils in the final.[125]

At the Australian Open, he defeated Roger Federer to reach his third Australian Open final. This marked Nadal's 11th consecutive victory in a Major semifinal, second only to Borg's all-time record of 14. In the final, he faced Stanislas Wawrinka, against whom he entered the match with a 12–0 record. However, Nadal suffered a back injury during the warm-up, which progressively worsened as the match wore on.[126] Nadal lost the first two sets, and although he won the third set, he ultimately lost the match in four sets. The first tournament he played after that was the inaugural Rio Open which he won after defeating Alexandr Dolgopolov in the final. However, at the Indian Wells Masters, Dolgopolov would avenge his loss, defeating Nadal in three sets in the third round. He reached the final of the Miami Masters, falling to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Nadal began his clay court season with a quarterfinal loss to David Ferrer in the Monte-Carlo Masters. He was stunned by Nicolas Almagro in the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open. Nadal then won his 27th masters title at the Madrid Open after Kei Nishikori retired in the third set of the final.[127] On 8 June 2014, Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic in the Men's Singles French Open final to win his 9th French Open title and a 5th straight win. Nadal equaled Pete Sampras' total of 14 Grand Slam wins.[128] Nadal then lost in the second round of the Halle Open to Dustin Brown the following week.[129]

Nadal entered the Wimbledon Championships in a bid to win the tournament for the third time. In the fourth round he was upset by Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios in four sets.[130] Nadal withdrew from the American swing owing to a wrist injury.[131] He made his return at the 2014 China Open but was defeated in the quarterfinals by Martin Klizan in three sets.[132] At the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he was suffering from appendicitis. He lost his opening match to Feliciano Lopez in straight sets.[133] Later, he was upset by Borna Ćorić at the quarterfinals of the 2014 Swiss Indoors. After the loss, he announced that he would skip the rest of the season to undergo surgery for his appendix.[134]

2015: Continued struggles and rankings drop

Nadal began the year as the defending Champion at the Qatar Open, but suffered a shocking three set defeat to Michael Berrer in the first round.[135] He won the doubles title with Juan Mónaco. At the Australian Open, Nadal lost in straight sets to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinal, thus ending a 17-match winning streak against the seventh-seeded Czech.[136]

Nadal at the 2015 Aegon Championships in London

In February, Nadal lost in the semifinals to Fabio Fognini at the Rio Open,[137] before going on to win his 46th career clay-court title against Juan Mónaco at the Argentina Open.[138] Nadal then participated at the Indian Wells and Miami Open but suffered early defeats to Milos Raonic and Fernando Verdasco, in the quarterfinals and third round respectively.[139][140] Nadal then began his spring clay season at the Monte Carlo Masters and reached the semifinals where he lost to Novak Djokovic in straight sets.[141] After losing to Fognini again at the Barcelona Open quarterfinals,[142] Nadal entered the Madrid Open as the two-time defending champion but lost in the final to Andy Murray in straight sets, resulting in his dropping out of the top five for the first time since 2005.[143][144] He then lost in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters to Stan Wawrinka in straight sets.[145]

Nadal lost to eventual runner-up Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the French Open, ending his winning streak of 39 consecutive victories in Paris since his defeat by Robin Söderling in 2009.[146] Nadal went on to win the 2015 Mercedes Cup against Serbian Viktor Troicki, his first grass court title since he won at Wimbledon in 2010.[147] He was unable to continue his good form on grass as he lost in the first round of the Aegon Championships to Alexandr Dolgopolov in three sets.[148] Nadal's struggles continued when he lost in the second round of Wimbledon to Dustin Brown.[149]

In the third round of the 2015 US Open, Nadal once again lost to Fognini, despite having won the first two sets.[150] This early exit ended Nadal's record 10-year streak of winning at least one major.

2016: Second Olympic gold medal

Nadal started the year winning Mubadala Title defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets. After that, he entered the Doha, Qatar, where he reached the finals, losing to Djokovic in straight sets. This was their 47th match, after which Djokovic led their head-to-head rivalry with 24 matches won. At the Australian Open, Nadal was defeated in five sets by compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the first round. The defeat marked his first opening round exit at the Australian Open.[151]

Nadal at the 2016 US Open

In April he won his 28th Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo.[152] He went on to win his 17th ATP 500 in Barcelona, winning the trophy for the ninth time in his career.[153] He continued the clay court season in Madrid, falling to Murray in the semifinal.[154]

The following week, Nadal played in Rome Masters where he reached the quarterfinal. Nadal was again defeated by Djokovic in straight sets, although he had a break advantage in both sets and served to win the second.[155]

Following Federer's withdrawal due to injury, Nadal was named the fourth seed at the French Open.[156] On 26 May, he became the eighth male player in tennis history to record 200 Grand Slam match wins, as he defeated Facundo Bagnis in straight sets in the second round of the Slam.[157] Following the victory, however, Nadal had to withdraw from competition owing to a left wrist injury initially suffered during the Madrid Open,[158] handing Marcel Granollers a walk-over into the fourth round.[159] On 9 June, Nadal announced that the same wrist injury that forced him to withdraw from the French Open needed more time to heal, and that he would not play at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.[160] At the Rio 2016 Olympics, Nadal achieved 800 career wins with his quarterfinal victory over the Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci. Partnering Marc López, he won the gold medal in men's doubles event for Spain by defeating Romania's Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau in the finals.[161] This made Nadal the second man in the open era to have won gold medals in both singles and doubles. Nadal also advanced to the bronze medal match in the men's singles but was defeated by Kei Nishikori.

At the US Open Nadal was seeded #4 and advanced to the fourth round but was defeated by 24th seed Lucas Pouille in 5 sets. The defeat meant that 2016 was the first year since 2004 in which Nadal had failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final.[162] He played the Shanghai Masters and was upset in the second round by Viktor Troicki. He subsequently ended his 2016 season to let his wrist recover.

2017: Two major titles and year-end No. 1

Nadal opened his season by playing at the Brisbane International for the first time, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Milos Raonic in three sets.[163] In the second round of the tournament, he defeated Mischa Zverev for the loss of just two games;[164] Nadal began the Australian Open with straight-set wins over Florian Mayer and Marcos Baghdatis, before more difficult wins over Alexander Zverev and Gael Monfils, which set up his first quarterfinal berth at a Grand Slam since the 2015 French Open. Nadal defeated Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively (the latter lasting for five sets over five hours), to set up a final against Roger Federer, his first Grand Slam final since he won the 2014 French Open. Nadal went on to lose to Federer in five sets; this was the first time that Nadal had lost to Federer in a Grand Slam since the final of the 2007 Wimbledon Championships.

Nadal made it to the final of Acapulco without dropping a set, but was defeated by big-serving Sam Querrey. In a rematch of the Australian Open final Nadal took on Roger Federer in the fourth round at Indian Wells but again lost to his old rival, this time in straight sets; it was their earliest meeting in a tournament in over a decade. In the Miami Masters, Nadal reached the final to again play Federer, and was once again defeated in straight sets.[165] Nadal then won his 29th Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo; it was his tenth victory in the principality, the most wins by any player at a single tournament in the Open era.[166] Nadal won his 18th ATP 500 title in Barcelona without dropping a set, also marking his tenth victory in Barcelona.[167] Nadal next played in the Madrid Open, where he defeated Dominic Thiem to tie Novak Djokovic's all-time Masters record of 30 titles.[168]

Nadal at the 2017 French Open where he won his 10th French Open title

Nadal went on to beat Stan Wawrinka in straight sets and win a record tenth French Open title. This marked his first Grand Slam title since 2014, ending his three-year drought in Grand Slams.[169] Nadal won every set that he played in the tournament, dropping a total of only 35 games over his seven matches, which is the second-fewest by any male (second only to Björn Borg's 32 dropped games at the 1978 French Open) on the way to a title at a Grand Slam tournament in the Open era with all matches being best-of-five-sets. The achievement, called "La Décima" ("the tenth" in Spanish), made Nadal the first male or female in the Open era to win ten titles from a single Grand Slam tournament, following similar achievements in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal also climbed to second on the all-time Grand Slam titles list, with 15 grand slam championships, putting him one ahead of Pete Sampras.[170]

Nadal lost in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, 13–15 in the fifth set, to Gilles Müller.[171] He returned to competition in Montreal. He won his first match against Coric in straight sets but fell in the Round of 16 to Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov. By 21 August, he retook the ATP No. 1 ranking from Andy Murray. Nadal earned his third US Open title against first-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson, winning the final in straight sets. This marked the first time that Nadal had captured two Grand Slam tournaments in a year since 2013, and the second time since 2010. Nadal extended his winning streak by winning the China Open, winning the final against Nick Kyrgios in straight sets.[172] On 11 September 2017, Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza made Spain the first country since the United States 14 years ago to simultaneously top both the ATP and the WTA rankings, with Muguruza making her debut in the No. 1 spot.[173]

After defeating Hyeon Chung in the second round of the Paris Masters Nadal secured the year-end No. 1. He became year-end No. 1 for the fourth time in his career, tying him for fourth all-time with Novak Djokovic, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe, behind Pete Sampras (6), and Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors (5). By securing the year-end no. 1 ranking, Nadal became the first player aged over 30 to finish as year-end No. 1 and the first to finish in the top spot four years since he last achieved the feat; he also broke a number of other historical records, all of which he broke again in 2019.[174]

2018: 11th French Open title

Nadal began his 2018 season at the Kooyong Classic, where he lost to Richard Gasquet in the first round. He then played at the Tie Break Tens exhibition tournament in Melbourne, losing in the final to Tomáš Berdych. At the Australian Open, Nadal recorded straight-sets wins in the first three rounds, before notching a tougher four-set win against Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round. He faced Marin Čilić in the quarterfinal, but retired in the fifth set due to a hip injury.[175]

On 16 February, Nadal dropped to the No. 2 ranking after 26 weeks at the top when his rival Roger Federer overtook him in points. Nadal withdrew from the Mexican Open, Indian Wells Masters, and Miami Open due to an injury. Despite his absence in Miami, he regained the No. 1 ranking on 2 April due to Federer's second-round loss. After recovering from injury, Nadal helped secure the Spanish Davis Cup team a victory over Germany in the quarterfinal of the World Group. He beat Philipp Kohlschreiber and Alexander Zverev in straight sets.[176]

At the Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal successfully defended his title and won a record-breaking 31st Masters title, thus becoming the player with the most Masters 1000 titles in tennis history. It also marked his 11th title in Monte Carlo, as well as the 76th title in his career. Because he defended the points won the previous year, he kept his No. 1 ranking and began his 171st week as the world No. 1.[177] Nadal won in Monte Carlo without dropping a set, beating Kei Nishikori in the final. Nadal went on to win his 11th title in Barcelona, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, becoming the first player in the open era to win 400 matches on both clay and hard.[178][179] The win marked his 20th ATP 500 series title, which put him back atop the list of most ATP 500 titles, tied with Roger Federer. It also marked his 14th consecutive season with at least one ATP 500 title.

Fresh after achieving the 'Undecima' at Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Nadal had to defend yet another title at Madrid. He reached the quarterfinals, defeating Gael Monfils and Diego Schwartzman in straight sets, to extend his record to 50 consecutive sets won on clay, starting from the 2017 French Open. His win over Schwartzman broke John McEnroe's record of 49 straight sets won on a single surface.[180] McEnroe had previously achieved the record on carpet in 1984. In a surprise, Nadal lost in straight sets to Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals, ending his 21-match and record 50-set winning streaks on clay. He also relinquished his world No. 1 ranking to Federer in the process.

At the Rome Masters, Nadal captured his 8th title in the Italian capital as well as his 78th career title, defeating Alexander Zverev in three sets, thus overtaking John McEnroe in the fourth place on the list of most titles won in the Open Era.[181] It was Nadal's 32nd Masters title – most of any player in the Open Era. With his victory in Rome, Nadal also regained the No. 1 spot from Federer.

Then at the French Open, Nadal won his 17th Grand Slam title. This tied Margaret Court's record for singles titles at a Grand Slam event (Court won 11 Australian Opens, but seven came when it was the Australian Championships, an amateur event). En route to the title, Nadal dropped only one set, beating Dominic Thiem in the final in three sets.[182] Nadal became just the fourth man in the Open Era to win three or more major titles after turning 30.

Going into Wimbledon, Nadal was ranked world number one, but was seeded second due to Wimbledon's seeding algorithm. He made it to the quarterfinals without dropping set. He then faced #5 seed Juan Martín del Potro, who he defeated in five sets. In the semifinals he faced long-time rival Novak Djokovic, who was aiming to reach his first major final since the 2016 US Open. This match lasted 5 hours and 17 minutes, spread over two days, becoming the second-longest Wimbledon semifinal in history, second only to the match between Kevin Anderson and John Isner held earlier on the same day. Djokovic defeated Nadal in five sets with the fifth set being 10–8.[183] This was Nadal's first defeat in the semifinals of a major since the 2009 US Open, and his first ever defeat in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Despite this, Nadal achieved his best results at Wimbledon since 2011. This performance, combined with Roger Federer's unsuccessful title defense, ensured that Nadal retained the world number one ranking after the grass season.

He then won the Rogers Cup, a record-extending 33rd Masters 1000 title.[184] This was Nadal's first Masters 1000 title win on hard court since 2013. He then withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters to prepare for the US Open. Nadal was the top seed during his title defense at the US Open. He first faced David Ferrer in Ferrer's last Grand Slam match, who retired due to injury during the second set. In his semi-final matchup against Juan Martin del Potro, Nadal retired after losing the second set 6–2 due to knee pain. On 31 October, he announced his withdrawal from the Paris Masters due to an abdominal injury and as a result Novak Djokovic replaced him as world No. 1.[185]

2019: Two major titles, year-end No. 1 and Davis Cup crown

Nadal was due to start his season at the 2019 Brisbane International, but withdrew shortly before his first match due to an injury. He was seeded second at the 2019 Australian Open, and recorded straight-sets wins against James Duckworth, Matthew Ebden, Alex de Minaur, Tomáš Berdych, first-time quarterfinalist Frances Tiafoe and first-time semifinalist Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his fifth Australian Open final. This was the first time that Nadal had advanced to an Australian Open final without losing a set; he had also lost only two service games during this run, both in his first-round match against Duckworth. Nadal lost the final in straight sets to Novak Djokovic, winning only eight games for the match and marking Nadal's first straight-sets loss in a Grand Slam final. Nadal next played at the 2019 Mexico Open, where he reached the second round, losing to Nick Kyrgios in three sets despite having three match points in the third set.[186] Nadal withdrew from both Indian Wells and Miami due to a right hip injury.[187]

Nadal began the clay season at the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters, reaching the semifinal, where he was defeated by eventual champion Fabio Fognini in straight sets.[188] He then competed in Barcelona (where he had won a record eleven titles), defeating Leonardo Mayer, David Ferrer and Jan-Lennard Struff, but lost to the eventual champion Dominic Thiem in straight sets. In Madrid, he had a bye in the first round and defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe and Stan Wawrinka, leading to his third clay-court semifinal of the year. He faced Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal, where he lost in three sets.[189] He won his first tournament of the year in Rome, with a three-set win over Djokovic in the final.[190] At the 2019 French Open, Nadal defeated Yannick Hanfmann, Yannick Maden, David Goffin, Juan Ignacio Londero, Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer (their first meeting at the tournament since 2011), dropping only one set along the way, to set up his twelfth French Open final. In a rematch of the previous year's final against Thiem, Nadal prevailed in four sets to claim his record-extending twelfth French Open title.[191] In doing so, he broke Margaret Court's all-time record of eleven singles titles won at a single Grand Slam event.[192]

Nadal next played at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and, like the previous year, reached the semifinals, where he faced Federer at Wimbledon for the first time since the 2008 Wimbledon final, a match regarded by some as the greatest in the history of tennis. Nadal lost the semifinal in four sets.[193] At the Rogers Cup, Nadal was the defending champion and top seed. By defeating Fabio Fognini in the quarterfinals, he took over the record for the highest number of Masters 1000 match wins of any active player, surpassing Roger Federer's previous record of 378 victories.[194] In the semifinals, he received a walkover over Gaël Monfils, and in the final, he yielded just three games to Daniil Medvedev, winning in straight sets. This victory marked the first time he achieved a title defence on a surface other than clay.[195] For the second year in a row, Nadal withdrew from Cincinnati Masters afterwards to focus on his US Open preparations.[196] At the 2019 US Open, Nadal lost only one set (against Marin Čilić) en route to the final, which he won against Daniil Medvedev in five sets. In doing so, Nadal claimed his fourth US Open title and 19th Grand Slam title (placing him only one behind Roger Federer in overall standings), won his first five-set Grand Slam final since the 2009 Australian Open final, and completed his second-best season in terms of Grand Slam singles results.[197] At Paris Masters, Nadal reached semi-final stage of the tournament, but pulled out due to an abdominal injury.[198]

At the 2019 ATP Finals, Nadal played in the Andre Agassi group and defeated Tsitsipas and Medvedev in the round-robin stage, but it was not enough to progress to the semifinals.[199] Despite his elimination, Nadal secured the year-end no. 1 ranking when Djokovic was also eliminated in the round-robin stage. This was Nadal's fifth time as the year-end no. 1 player, drawing level with Jimmy Connors, Federer and Djokovic behind Pete Sampras (six), and in doing so, he broke a number of the records he set in 2017:[200]

At the age of 33, Nadal is the oldest person to finish as year-end no. 1 player.
Nadal became the first player to hold, lose and regain the year-end no. 1 ranking on four occasions.
Nadal became the first player to finish as the year-end no. 1 five times in non-consecutive years.
The eleven-year gap between Nadal's first year-end no. 1 season (2008) and his last (2019) is also a record.

At the 2019 Davis Cup Finals, Nadal helped Spain win its sixth Davis Cup title. Nadal won all eight of his matches in singles and doubles, extending his winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches to 29 (29–1 record overall) without dropping a set or losing a game on serve;[201][202][203] he also won the tournament's most valuable player award.[203]

2020: ATP Cup final

Nadal began his 2020 season by playing at the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup and helped Spain reach the final where they lost to Serbia, with Nadal losing to Djokovic in straight sets.[204] Nadal then played at the 2020 Australian Open and won his first three matches in straight sets against Hugo Dellien, Federico Delbonis and Pablo Carreño Busta. In the fourth round, he defeated Nick Kyrgios in four sets and reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Dominic Thiem in four sets.[205] Afterwards, Nadal went on to win his third Mexican Open title, defeating Taylor Fritz in straights sets in the final.[206]

Rivalries

Nadal vs. Federer

Roger Federer and Nadal have been playing each other since 2004, and their rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers.[45][207][208] They held the top two rankings on the ATP Tour from July 2005 to 14 August 2009,[209] and again from 11 September 2017 to 15 October 2018. They are the only pair of men to have ever finished four consecutive calendar years at the top.[210][211] Nadal ascended to No. 2 in July 2005 and held this spot for a record 160 consecutive weeks before surpassing Federer in August 2008.[212]

They have played 40 times. Nadal leads 24–16 overall and 10–4 in Grand Slam tournaments. Nadal has a winning record on clay (14–2) and outdoor hard courts (8–6), while Federer leads the indoor hard courts 5–1 and grass 3–1.[213]

As tournament seedings are based on rankings, 24 of their matches have been in tournament finals, including an all-time record nine Grand Slam tournament finals.[214] From 2006 to 2008, they played in every French Open and Wimbledon final, and also met in the title match of the 2009 Australian Open, the 2011 French Open and the 2017 Australian Open.[214] Nadal won six of the nine, losing the first two Wimbledon finals. Four of these matches were five-set matches (2007 and 2008 Wimbledon, 2009 and 2017 Australian Open), and the 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts.[46][215][216][217] Nadal is the only player who has competed and won against Federer in the final of a Grand Slam on all three surfaces (grass, hard, and clay).

Nadal vs. Djokovic

Nadal and Djokovic in Rome 2016

Novak Djokovic and Nadal have met 55 times (more than any other pair in the Open Era) and Nadal leads 9–6 at the Grand Slams and trails 26–29 overall.[117][218][219] Nadal leads on clay 17–7, while Djokovic leads on hard courts 20–7, and they are tied on grass 2–2.[117][219] In 2009, this rivalry was listed as the third greatest of the previous 10 years by ATPworldtour.com.[220] Djokovic is one of only two players to have at least ten match wins against Nadal (the other being Federer) and the only person to defeat Nadal seven consecutive times, and two times consecutively on clay. The two earlier shared the record for the longest match played in a best of three sets (4 hours and 3 minutes) at the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open semifinals until the match between Roger Federer and Juan Martín del Potro in the London 2012 Olympics Semifinal, which lasted 4 hours and 26 minutes.[221][222] They have also played in a record 13 Masters Series finals.

In the 2011 Wimbledon final, Djokovic won in four sets for his first Grand Slam final victory over Nadal.[223] Djokovic also defeated Nadal in the 2011 US Open Final. In 2012, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final for a third consecutive Grand Slam final win over Nadal. This is the longest Grand Slam tournament final in Open era history at 5 hours, 53 minutes.[224] Nadal won their last three 2012 meetings in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters and French Open in April, May, and June 2012, respectively.[225] In 2013, Djokovic defeated Nadal in straight sets in the final at Monte Carlo, ending Nadal's record eight consecutive titles there, but Nadal got revenge at the French Open in an epic five-setter 9–7 in the fifth. In August 2013, Nadal won in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title.[117] Nadal also defeated Djokovic in the 2013 US Open Final.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in the 2014 French Open final. Since the 2014 French Open Final, Djokovic has won seven consecutive meetings including a win in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the 2015 French Open which ended Nadal's 39-match win streak at Stade Roland Garros and an opportunity for a sixth consecutive title, with Djokovic becoming only the second player after Robin Söderling to defeat Nadal at the event. Nadal easily defeated Djokovic in the 2017 Madrid Open semifinals (6–2, 6–4), his first victory against the Serb since the 2014 French Open. When they next met Nadal beat Djokovic again, this time on clay in the 2018 Rome semifinals. They then met in the 2018 Wimbledon semifinals, where Djokovic finally emerged victorious after a battle lasting over five hours that was spread over two days and went to 10–8 in the fifth set. Then in the 2019 Australian Open final, Djokovic easily won in straight sets, marking Nadal's first straight-sets loss in a Grand Slam final. But in the 2019 Rome Masters final, it was Nadal who defeated the Serbian in three sets, and also the very first time in which either of them (Nadal) got a 6–0 win in a set.

Nadal vs. Murray

Nadal and Andy Murray have met on 24 occasions since 2007, with Nadal leading 17–7. Nadal leads 7–2 on clay, 3–0 on grass, and 7–5 on hard courts (including 4–4 on outdoor courts, but Nadal leads 3–1 on indoor hard courts), but trails 1–3 in finals. The pair once met regularly at Grand Slam level, with nine out of their 23 meetings coming in Grand Slams, with Nadal leading 7–2 (3–0 at Wimbledon, 2–0 at the French Open, 1–1 at the Australian Open, and 1–1 at the US Open).[226] Seven of these nine appearances have been in quarterfinals and semifinals, making the rivalry an important part of both men's careers. Nadal defeated Murray in three consecutive Grand Slam semifinals in 2011 from the French Open to the US Open. They have never met in a Grand Slam final, but Murray leads 3–1 in ATP finals, with Nadal winning at Indian Wells in 2009[227] and Murray winning in Rotterdam the same year,[228] Tokyo[229] in 2011, and Madrid in 2015.

Nadal vs. Wawrinka

Nadal and Stan Wawrinka have met 20 times, with Nadal leading 17–3 (85.0%). Although this rivalry has less significance than rivalries with the other members of the Big Four, the pair have met in several prestigious tournaments. The rivalry saw Nadal winning the first 12 encounters, all in straight sets, including 2 finals, one of which is a Masters 1000 final at Madrid in 2013. However, since Wawrinka's breakthrough season in 2013 the pair has won an almost equal number of matches against each other (3–4) from 2014 onward.[230] Wawrinka scored his first win against Nadal in their most important encounter, the 2014 Australian Open final in 4 sets, denying Nadal's double career slam. It was also the only match between the pair not resulting in a straight set win for either player. Nadal won their second Grand Slam final, at the 2017 French Open.[231]

Nadal vs. Ferrer

Nadal and compatriot David Ferrer met a total of 32 times, with the total record ending 26–6 (81.3%) in favor of Nadal with Ferrer's retirement. Nadal and Ferrer had met in several prestigious tournaments and important matches. Ferrer won their first meeting in 2004 in Stuttgart in 3 sets, but Nadal went on to win the next four until Ferrer defeated him in the 4th round of the 2007 US Open. The pair met in their first tournament final in 2008, in Barcelona, where Nadal won in three sets. They met a year later again in the Barcelona final, with Nadal taking the title in straight sets. In 2010, the pair met in their first Masters 1000 final in Rome, where Nadal won in straight sets. Ferrer, however, would get his revenge in the 2011 Australian Open quarterfinal, defeating Nadal in straight sets for the first time in a grand slam.

Their biggest meeting, came in the 2013 French Open final. Ferrer was in his first major final, whereas Nadal was aiming for his 8th title at Roland Garros, and 13th overall. It was a straightforward victory for Nadal, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3. Between that meeting and 2015, Ferrer and Nadal would go on to play 6 more matches, with Nadal winning 4 of the 6.

In 2018, Ferrer announced that the US Open would be his last Grand Slam tournament, and he would retire the next year in the clay court season in Spain. Nadal and Ferrer had their first meeting since 2015 in the first round in the US Open. Ferrer's final grand slam match, however, ended in injury as he was forced to retire in the 2nd set against Nadal. Yet, in his second to last tournament in Barcelona, he would have one more meeting with Nadal. Although it was a straight sets victory it was a close match until the end, with the resilient Ferrer fighting until the last point. The overall score was 6–3, 6–3 in the final match between the two before Ferrer's retirement at the 2019 Madrid Open.

Nadal vs. Del Potro

Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro have met 17 times, with Nadal leading 11–6 (64.7%). Outside the Big 4, no active player has more wins against Nadal than Del Potro. The two have met in many prestigious tournaments, including at 3 of the 4 grand slams. Nadal won their first four meetings between 2007–09, however Del Potro went on to win the next three, including a straight sets victory at the 2009 US Open SF (he later went on to win the tournament after defeating Roger Federer in the final. Their next major meeting came during the 2011 Davis Cup final. Nadal went on to beat Del Potro in 4 sets to claim the Davis Cup for Spain, their fourth since 2004. Nadal in 2013 also denied Del Potro his first Masters 1000 title, with a victory in 3 sets at the 2013 Indian Wells Masters. However, Del Potro got his revenge, and had one of his most important victories against Nadal in the SF of the 2016 Summer Olympics, beating him in three close sets (culminating with a tie break). Del Potro went on to claim the silver medal.

After a long span of injuries with both players, the pair met in a Grand Slam for the first time since the R16 at Wimbledon in 2011 at the 2017 US Open. Del Potro, facing Nadal after a victory in 4 sets against Federer, made it to the SF of a Grand Slam for the first time since 2013. However, the Spaniard got the better of him in that encounter, beating Del Potro in 4 sets. The pair then met in 3 of the 4 grand slam events in 2018, including a memorable match at the 2018 Wimbledon QF. The match went on for close to 5 hours, with Nadal coming out on top, 7–5, 6–7, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. The pair had another meeting at the 2018 US Open, during which Nadal was forced to retire against Del Potro in the SF. Del Potro then went on to his first grand slam final since his victory in the 2009 US Open. He ended up losing in the final in straight sets to Novak Djokovic.

Nadal vs. Berdych

Nadal and Tomas Berdych have met a total of 24 times, with Nadal leading 20–4 (83.3%). Although this rivalry is lopsided mostly in favor of Nadal, the two have had some incredible matches in many prestigious tournaments. The pair have met at 2 of the 4 grand slams, with 3 meetings at the Australian Open and twice at Wimbledon, including the 2010 final. Nadal and Berdych first met in an ATP tournament in Båstad, where both men reached the final. Nadal won the match in 3 sets, in what was only his 8th title on the tour. Nadal and Berdych met a few more times in 2005–06, all in Masters 1000 tournaments. Out of their 4 matches, Berdych was able to win in 3, in Canada, Madrid, and Cincinnati. Their first meeting in a Grand Slam came at Wimbledon in 2007. They met in the QF, where Nadal defeated Berdych in straight sets. Their next significant meeting was in the opening round of the 2009 Davis Cup Final, where Nadal again defeated Berdych in straight sets. Spain went on to win the Davis Cup that year.

Their next meeting in a final came at a Grand Slam, in Wimbledon. Nadal had reached his 4th Wimbledon final, in an attempt to win his second title. Berdych had reached his first Grand Slam final, defeating Roger Federer in 4 sets in the quarterfinal and Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the SF. However the Spaniard was too good for the Czech in the final, and Nadal won in straight sets to take his 11th Grand Slam title. Their next meeting in a Grand Slam came only two years later in the 2012 Australian Open quarterfinal, where Nadal won in 4 tight sets. Nadal would later go on to lose the final to Djokovic in 5 sets. After multiple meetings from 2012–2014, all of which were won by Nadal, the pair met again at the 2015 Australian Open quarterfinal. Here, after 18 straight losses over 9 years, Berdych was able to claim a win over Nadal, and his only in a Grand Slam against the Spaniard. Berdych won the match in straight sets, including a bagel (6–0) in the second. The two met later in 2015 in Madrid, where Nadal won in straight sets.

After a long gap of 4 years, Nadal and Berdych met most recently at the 2019 Australian Open R16. After both players had prematurely ended their 2018 seasons with injuries, both had been playing very well in the 2019 season up to that point, with Berdych reaching the final in Doha. However, like many of their meetings, Nadal dominated the Czech and beat him in straight sets.

Legacy

Nadal stands alone in the Open Era as the player with the most clay court titles (59), and holds an all-time record of 12 French Opens, 11 Monte-Carlo Masters and 11 Barcelona titles. He also stands alone with the longest single surface win streak in matches (clay courts, 81) and in sets (clay courts, 50) in the history of the Open Era. Due to these achievements, many have called Nadal "The King of Clay",[lower-alpha 1] and he is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history.[lower-alpha 2] Nadal's records and evolution into an all-court champion have established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history,[lower-alpha 3] with some former tennis players and analysts considering him to be the greatest tennis player of all time.[lower-alpha 4]

The former tennis player Andre Agassi picked Nadal as the greatest of all time because of the way the Spaniard "had to deal with Federer, Djokovic, Murray in the golden age of tennis".[261] Nadal leads the head-to-head record in Grand Slams against all members of the Big Three and he has highest number of Slams won beating a Big Three member en route (13).

Nadal is, along with Wilander, the only male tennis player to win at least two Grand Slams on three different surfaces (hard, grass and clay). Nadal is also, along with Agassi, the only male tennis player to win the Olympic Gold in singles and the four Grand Slams in his career, a feat known as Career Golden Slam. In 2010, Nadal became the only male tennis player to win Grand Slams on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts) the same calendar year. Nadal holds the record for most consecutive years winning a Grand Slam (2005–2014), as well as the record for most outdoor titles (83).

Playing style and coaching

Nadal's playing style and personality can be summarised by Jimmy Connors: "He's built out of a mold that I think I came from also, that you walk out there, you give everything you have from the very first point to the end no matter what the score. And you're willing to lay it all out on the line and you're not afraid to let the people see that."

Former ATP world no. 1 and coach of Nadal, Carlos Moya, remembers the first time he played Nadal in Germany, when he was 22 and Rafa was just 12. He shared the account in the book "Facing Nadal" by Scoop Malimowski: "I met him for the first time in Stuttgart. He was playing an under 12s and I was playing the Masters event. We actually played that day and he was twelve and I was twenty-two. I think he was a very great player under twelve, he was very shy off court. But then we saw something different on court. But he was very hungry to play and compete and that’s something you could see right away.” [266]

Nadal generally plays an aggressive, behind-the-baseline game founded on heavy topspin groundstrokes, consistency, speedy footwork and tenacious court coverage, thus making him an aggressive counterpuncher.[267] Known for his athleticism and speed around the court, Nadal is an excellent defender[268] who hits well on the run, constructing winning plays from seemingly defensive positions. He also plays very fine dropshots, which work especially well because his heavy topspin often forces opponents to the back of the court.[269]

Nadal at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2007

Nadal employs a semi-western grip forehand, often with a "lasso-whip" follow-through, where his left arm hits through the ball and finishes above his left shoulder – as opposed to a more traditional finish across the body or around his opposite shoulder.[270][271] Nadal's forehand groundstroke form allows him to hit shots with heavy topspin – more so than many of his contemporaries.[272]

San Francisco tennis researcher John Yandell used a high-speed video camera and special software to count the average number of revolutions of a tennis ball hit full force by Nadal. Yandell concluded:

The first guys we did were Sampras and Agassi. They were hitting forehands that in general were spinning about 1,800 to 1,900 revolutions per minute. Federer is hitting with an amazing amount of spin, too, right? 2,700 revolutions per minute. Well, we measured one forehand Nadal hit at 4,900. His average was 3,200.[273]

While Nadal's shots tend to land short of the baseline, the characteristically high bounces his forehands achieve tend to mitigate the advantage an opponent would normally gain from capitalizing on a short ball.[274] Although his forehand is based on heavy topspin, he can hit the ball deep and flat with a more orthodox follow through for clean winners.

Nadal's serve was initially considered a weak point in his game, although his improvements in both first-serve points won and break points saved since 2005 have allowed him to consistently compete for and win major titles on faster surfaces. Nadal relies on the consistency of his serve to gain a strategic advantage in points, rather than going for service winners.[275] However, before the 2010 US Open, he altered his service motion, arriving in the trophy pose earlier and pulling the racket lower during the trophy pose. Before the 2010 U.S. Open, Nadal modified his service grip to a more continental one. These two changes in his serve increased his average speed by around 10 mph during the 2010 US Open, maxing out at 135 mph (217 km), allowing him to win more free points on his serve.[276] Since the 2010 US Open, Nadal's serve speed dropped to previous levels and was again been cited as a need for improvement.[277][278][279] From 2019 onwards, several analysts praised Nadal's improvement on the serve, and noticed the speed of his serve had notably increased.[280][281][282][283]

After signing the new coach Carlos Moyá in December 2016, Nadal's game style acquired a more offensive approach. Under the direction of Carlos Moyá, Nadal improved his serve,[284][285] and also incorporated serve-and-volley as a surprise tactic in some of his matches.[286]

Nadal is a clay court specialist in the sense that he has been extremely successful on that surface. He has won 12 times at the French Open, 11 times at Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and nine at Rome. However, Nadal has shed that label owing to his success on other surfaces, including holding simultaneous Grand Slam tournament titles on grass, hard courts, and clay on two separate occasions, winning ten Masters series titles on hard court, and winning the Olympic gold medal on hardcourt.[267][287]

Despite praise for Nadal's talent and skill, in the past, some had questioned his longevity in the sport, citing his build and playing style as conducive to injury.[288] Nadal himself has admitted to the physical toll hard courts place on ATP Tour players, calling for a reevaluated tour schedule featuring fewer hard court tournaments.[289] This "longevity" narrative has proved to be inaccurate and pundits today admire his resilience.[290]

Nadal has had several coaches throughout his career. Toni Nadal coached him from 1990–2017.[291] He is currently being coached by Francisco Roig (2005–)[292] and Carlos Moyá (2016–).[293]

Public image

Equipment and endorsements

Nadal has been sponsored by Kia Motors since 2006. He has appeared in advertising campaigns for Kia as a global ambassador for the company. In May 2008, Kia released a claymation viral ad featuring Nadal in a tennis match with an alien.[294] In May 2015, Nadal extended his partnership with Kia for another five years.[295]

Nadal wearing his signature Nike sleeveless shirt at the French Open in 2007, while holding his Babolat racquet

Nike serves as Nadal's clothing and shoe sponsor. Nadal's signature on-court attire entailed a variety of sleeveless shirts paired with 3/4 length capri pants.[296] For the 2009 season, Nadal adopted more-traditional on-court apparel. Nike encouraged Nadal to update his look in order to reflect his new status as the sport's top player at that time[297] and associate Nadal with a style that, while less distinctive than his "pirate" look, would be more widely emulated by consumers.[298][299] At warmup tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha, Nadal played matches in a polo shirt specifically designed for him by Nike,[300] paired with shorts cut above the knee. Nadal's new, more conventional style carried over to the 2009 Australian Open, where he was outfitted with Nike's Bold Crew Men's Tee[301] and Nadal Long Check Shorts.[302][303][304] Nadal wears Nike's Air CourtBallistec 2.3 tennis shoes,[305] bearing various customizations throughout the season, including his nickname "Rafa" on the right shoe and a stylized bull logo on the left.

He became the face of Lanvin's L'Homme Sport cologne in April 2009.[306] Nadal uses an AeroPro Drive racquet with a 4¹⁄₄-inch L2 grip. As of the 2010 season, Nadal's racquets are painted to resemble the new Babolat AeroPro Drive with Cortex GT racquet in order to market a current model which Babolat sells.[307][308] Nadal uses no replacement grip, and instead wraps two overgrips around the handle. He used Duralast 15L strings until the 2010 season, when he switched to Babolat's new, black-colored, RPM Blast string. Nadal's rackets are always strung at 55 lb (25 kg), regardless of which surface or conditions he is playing on.

As of January 2010, Nadal is the international ambassador for Quely, a company from his native Mallorca that manufactures biscuits, bakery and chocolate-coated products; he has consumed their products ever since he was a young child.[309]

In 2010, luxury watchmaker Richard Mille announced that he had developed an ultra-light wristwatch in collaboration with Nadal called the Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon watch.[310] The watch is made of titanium and lithium and is valued at US$525,000; Nadal was involved in the design and testing of the watch on the tennis court.[310] During the 2010 French Open, Men's Fitness reported that Nadal wore the Richard Mille watch on the court as part of a sponsorship deal with the Swiss watchmaker.[311]

Nadal replaced Cristiano Ronaldo as the new face of Emporio Armani Underwear and Armani Jeans for the spring/summer 2011 collection.[312] This was the first time that the label has chosen a tennis player for the job; association football has ruled lately prior to Ronaldo, David Beckham graced the ads since 2008.[313] Armani said that he selected Nadal as his latest male underwear model because "...he is ideal as he represents a healthy and positive model for youngsters".[312]

In June 2012, Nadal joined the group of sports endorsers of the PokerStars online poker cardroom.[314] Nadal won a charity poker tournament against retired Brazilian football player Ronaldo in 2014.[315]

Court name

In April 2017, the centre court of the Barcelona Open was named Pista Rafa Nadal.[316]

In popular culture

In February 2010, Rafael Nadal was featured in the music video of Shakira's "Gypsy".[317] and part of her album release She Wolf. In explaining why she chose Nadal for the video, Shakira was quoted as saying in an interview with the Latin American Herald Tribune: "I thought that maybe I needed someone I could in some way identify with. And Rafael Nadal is a person who has been totally committed to his career since he was very young. Since he was 17, I believe."[318][319]

Nadal was the subject of Scoop Malinowski's 2016 book "Facing Nadal."

Asteroid

128036 Rafaelnadal is a main belt asteroid discovered in 2003 at the Observatorio Astronómico de Mallorca and named after Nadal.[320] The decision to name the asteroid after Nadal was made by the International Astronomical Union in response to a request by the observatory. The asteroid is four kilometers in diameter and travels through space at a speed of 20 km per second."[321]

Off the court

Rafa Nadal Sports Centre

Nadal owns and trains at the Rafa Nadal Sports Centre (40,000 square meters) in his hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. The centre houses the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, where the American International School of Mallorca is located.[322] Also located in the centre is a sports residence, a Rafael Nadal museum, a health clinic, a fitness centre with spa and a café. The facility has 26 tennis courts among its sporting areas.[322]

Philanthropy

Nadal took part in Thailand's "A Million Trees for the King" project, planting a tree in honour of King Bhumibol Adulyadej on a visit to Hua Hin during his Thailand Open 2010. "For me it's an honour to be part of this project", said Nadal. "It's a very good project. I want to congratulate the Thai people and congratulate the King for this unbelievable day. I wish all the best for this idea. It's very, very nice."[323]

Fundación Rafa Nadal

The creation of the Fundación Rafa Nadal took place in November 2007, and its official presentation was in February 2008, at the Manacor Tennis Club in Mallorca, Spain. The foundation will focus on social work and development aid particularly on childhood and youth.[324] On deciding why to start a foundation, Nadal 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..." Nadal was inspired by the Red Cross benefit match against malaria with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, recalling, "We raised an amount of money that we would never have imagined. I have to thank Iker, my project partner, who went all out for it, [...] That is why the time has come to set up my own foundation and determine the destination of the money."

Nadal's mother, Ana María Parera, chairs the charitable organization and father Sebastian is vice-chairman. Coach and uncle Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, are also involved. Roger Federer has given Nadal advice on getting involved in philanthropy. Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad".[325]

On 16 October 2010, Nadal traveled to India for the first time to visit his tennis academy for underprivileged children at Anantapur Sports Village, in the Anantapur City, Andhra Pradesh. His foundation has also worked in the Anantapur Educational Center project, in collaboration with the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.[326][327]

Floods in Majorca

Rafael Nadal opened his tennis academy centre to Majorca flood victims in October 2018.[328] By that time he was recovering at home in Majorca, shortly after having to leave the US Open due to injury and one day after the flood he worked personally with some friends to help the victims.[329][330]

Later, Nadal donated €1 million for rebuilding Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, the most affected town by the floods in the island.[331][332] Nadal also organized other charitable activities to help repair the damage of the disaster, such as the Olazábal & Nadal charity golf tournament [333][334] and a charity tennis match in which he was going to participate and that had to be suspended because he had to have an operation on an ankle injury.[335]

Other charities

Nadal supports or has supported other charities, such as City Harvest, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and Small Steps Project[336]

Involvement in football

Nadal is an avid fan of association football club Real Madrid. On 8 July 2010, it was reported that he had become a shareholder of RCD Mallorca, his local club by birth, in an attempt to assist the club from debt.[337] Nadal reportedly owns 10 percent and was offered the role of vice president, which he rejected.[338] His uncle Miguel Ángel Nadal became assistant coach under Michael Laudrup. Nadal remains a passionate Real Madrid supporter; ESPN.com writer Graham Hunter wrote, "He's as Merengue as [Real Madrid icons] Raúl, Iker Casillas and Alfredo Di Stéfano."

Shortly after acquiring his interest in Mallorca, Nadal called out UEFA for apparent hypocrisy in ejecting the club from the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League for excessive debts, saying through a club spokesperson, "Well, if those are the criteria upon which UEFA is operating, then European competition will only comprise two or three clubs because all the rest are in debt, too."[339]

He is a fervent supporter of the Spanish national team, and he was one of six people not affiliated with the team or the national federation allowed to enter the team's locker room following Spain's victory in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.[339]

Personal life

Nadal lived with his parents and younger sister María Isabel in a five-story apartment building in their hometown of Manacor, Mallorca. In June 2009, Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, and then The New York Times, reported that his parents, Ana María and Sebastián, had separated. This news came after weeks of speculation in Internet posts and message boards over Nadal's personal issues as the cause of his setback.[340]

Nadal is an agnostic atheist.[341] As a young boy, he would run home from school to watch Goku in his favorite Japanese anime, Dragon Ball. CNN released an article about Nadal's childhood inspiration, and called him "the Dragon Ball of tennis" owing to his unorthodox style "from another planet".[342]

In addition to tennis and football, Nadal enjoys playing golf and poker.[343] In April 2014 he played the world's No. 1 female poker player, Vanessa Selbst, in a poker game in Monaco.[344] Nadal's autobiography, Rafa (Hyperion, 2012, ISBN 1-4013-1092-3), written with assistance from John Carlin, was published in August 2011.[345] Nadal has been in a relationship with María Francisca (Mery) Perelló Pascual[346] (often mistakenly referred to as Xisca in the press)[347][348] since 2005, and their engagement was reported in January 2019.[349] The couple married in October 2019.[350]

Career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

**Key**
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	A	NH

(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through the 2020 Mexican Open.

Tournament	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	A	3R	4R	A	QF	SF	W	QF	QF	F	A	F	QF	1R	F	QF	F	QF	1 / 15	65–14	82%
French Open	A	A	W	W	W	W	4R	W	W	W	W	W	QF	3R	W	W	W		12 / 15	93–2	98%
Wimbledon	3R	A	2R	F	F	W	A	W	F	2R	1R	4R	2R	A	4R	SF	SF	NH	2 / 14	53–12	82%
US Open	2R	2R	3R	QF	4R	SF	SF	W	F	A	W	A	3R	4R	W	SF	W	A	4 / 15	64–11	85%
Win–Loss	3–2	3–2	13–3	17–2	20–3	24–2	15–2	25–1	23–3	14–2	14–1	16–2	11–4	5–2	23–2	21–3	24–2	4–1	19 / 59	275–39	88%

* Nadal withdrew before the third round of the 2016 French Open due to a wrist injury, which does not officially count as a loss.
* Nadal received a walkover in the second round of the 2019 US Open, which does not count as a win.

Finals: 27 (19 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	2005	French Open	Clay	Mariano Puerta	6–7^(6–8), 6–3, 6–1, 7–5
Win	2006	French Open (2)	Clay	Roger Federer	1–6, 6–1, 6–4, 7–6^(7–4)
Loss	2006	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	0–6, 6–7^(5–7), 7–6^(7–2), 3–6
Win	2007	French Open (3)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	2007	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	6–7^(7–9), 6–4, 6–7^(3–7), 6–2, 2–6
Win	2008	French Open (4)	Clay	Roger Federer	6–1, 6–3, 6–0
Win	2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Roger Federer	6–4, 6–4, 6–7^(5–7), 6–7^(8–10), 9–7
Win	2009	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	7–5, 3–6, 7–6^(7–3), 3–6, 6–2
Win	2010	French Open (5)	Clay	Robin Söderling	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
Win	2010	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Tomáš Berdych	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Win	2010	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–2
Win	2011	French Open (6)	Clay	Roger Federer	7–5, 7–6^(7–3), 5–7, 6–1
Loss	2011	Wimbledon	Grass	Novak Djokovic	4–6, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss	2011	US Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	2–6, 4–6, 7–6^(7–3), 1–6
Loss	2012	Australian Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 4–6, 2–6, 7–6^(7–5), 5–7
Win	2012	French Open (7)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 7–5
Win	2013	French Open (8)	Clay	David Ferrer	6–3, 6–2, 6–3
Win	2013	US Open (2)	Hard	Novak Djokovic	6–2, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Loss	2014	Australian Open	Hard	Stan Wawrinka	3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	2014	French Open (9)	Clay	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	2017	Australian Open	Hard	Roger Federer	4–6, 6–3, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	2017	French Open (10)	Clay	Stan Wawrinka	6–2, 6–3, 6–1
Win	2017	US Open (3)	Hard	Kevin Anderson	6–3, 6–3, 6–4
Win	2018	French Open (11)	Clay	Dominic Thiem	6–4, 6–3, 6–2
Loss	2019	Australian Open	Hard	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win	2019	French Open (12)	Clay	Dominic Thiem	6–3, 5–7, 6–1, 6–1
Win	2019	US Open (4)	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	7–5, 6–3, 5–7, 4–6, 6–4

Year–End Championships performance timeline

Tournament	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	SR	W–L	Win %
ATP Finals	Did Not Qualify				A	SF	SF	A	RR	F	RR	A	F	A	SF	A	RR	A	RR		0 / 9	18–14	56%

Finals: 2 (2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	2010	London	Hard	Roger Federer	3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Loss	2013	London	Hard	Novak Djokovic	3–6, 4–6

Records

All-time tournament records

Tournament	Since	Record accomplished	Players matched
Grand Slam	1877	12 men's singles titles at one major	Stands alone
		10 consecutive years of winning 1+ title (2005–2014)
		Winning titles on 3 different surfaces in a calendar year (2010)
		3 consecutive titles on 3 different surfaces
French Open	1891	12 men's singles titles
ATP Masters 1000	1970	Most Men's singles titles at a single event (Monte-Carlo Masters)
		35 titles overall
		10 consecutive seasons with 1+ men's singles titles (2005–14)
		21 consecutive quarterfinals (2008–2010)
Monte Carlo Masters	1897	11 men's singles titles
Barcelona Open	1953	11 men's singles titles
Rome Masters	1930	9 men's singles titles
Madrid Open	2002	5 men's singles titles

Open Era records

These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
Records in italics are currently active streaks.
^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Time span	Selected Grand Slam tournament records	Players matched	Ref.
2005 French Open – 2010 US Open	Career Golden Slam	Andre Agassi	[83]
	Career Grand Slam	Rod Laver Andre Agassi Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	[351]
	Youngest to achieve a Career Grand Slam (24)	Stands alone	[351][352]
	2+ titles on grass, clay and hard courts	Mats Wilander	[351]
2007 French Open – 2019 Australian Open	7 finals reached without losing a set[lower-alpha 5]	Stands alone	[106][355]
2008 French Open – 2017 French Open	3 titles won without losing a set	Björn Borg	[356]
2008 French Open – 2009 Australian Open	Simultaneous holder of Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Roger Federer Novak Djokovic	[357]
2008 French Open – 2009 Australian Open	Simultaneous holder of Olympic singles gold medal and Majors on clay, grass and hard court	Stands alone	[358]
2010 French Open – 2010 US Open	Winner of Majors on clay, grass and hard court in calendar year		[359]
2011 Wimbledon – 2012 Australian Open	3 consecutive runners-up finishes		[360][361]
2005 French Open – 2019 US Open	5+ finals at all 4 different tournaments	Roger Federer

Time span	Grand Slam tournaments	Records at each Grand Slam tournament	Players matched	Ref.
2005–2019	French Open	12 titles overall	Stands alone	[356][362]
2010–2014		5 consecutive titles		[362]
2005–2019		12 finals overall		[363]
2010–2014		5 consecutive finals		[364]
2005–2019		12 semifinals overall		[362]
2005–2019		93 match wins overall		[365]
2010–2015		39 consecutive match wins		[362]
2005–2019		97.9% (93–2) match winning percentage		[366]
2008, 2010, 2017		3 titles won without losing a set		[356][362]
2005		Won title on the first attempt	Mats Wilander	[367]
2008, 2010	French Open—Wimbledon	Accomplished a "Channel Slam": Winning both tournaments in the same year	Rod Laver Björn Borg Roger Federer	[368]

Time span	Other selected records	Players matched	Ref.
ATP Masters 1000 records
2005–2019	35 Masters Series[lower-alpha 6] titles	Stands alone
2005–2019	51 combined Championship Masters Series[lower-alpha 6] finals	Stands alone
2013	4 consecutive Masters 1000 titles	Novak Djokovic
2005–2013	All 9 Masters 1000 finals reached	Roger Federer Novak Djokovic
2010	Accomplished a "Clay Slam"[lower-alpha 7]	Stands alone	[369]
2005–2018	11 Monte-Carlo Masters titles	Stands alone	[370]
2005–2019	9+ titles at two different tournaments	Stands alone
2005–2019	5+ titles at four different tournaments	Stands alone
2005–2019	9 Italian Open titles	Stands alone
2005–2017	5 Madrid Open titles	Stands alone
Other records
2002–2019	83.19% (990–200) career match winning percentage	Stands alone	[371]
2004–2019	59 clay court titles	Stands alone	[356]
2004–2019	81 outdoor titles	Stands alone
2005–2007	81 consecutive clay court match victories	Stands alone	[372][373]
2004–2019	20 match wins against world No. 1 players[lower-alpha 8]	Stands alone
2002–2019	91.79% (436–39) clay court match winning percentage	Stands alone	[376]
2002–2019	84.76% (901–162) outdoor match winning percentage	Stands alone	[377]
2017–2018	Won 50 consecutive sets on a single surface (clay)	Stands alone	[378]
2005–2018	11+ titles at a single tournament (French Open, Monte Carlo, Barcelona)	Stands alone	[356]
2005–2012	8 consecutive titles at a single tournament (Monte Carlo)	Stands alone	[379]
2004–2006	16 titles won as a teenager	Björn Borg	[380]
2005–2019	37 clay court big titles	Stands alone

Professional awards

ITF World Champion: 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019.
ATP Player of the Year: 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019.

gollark: Orbit is one of my favourite … locations? Sets of locations? Sets of *momenta*?

gollark: I don't think I called any.

gollark: Orbital kana antimemetic strikes possibly?

gollark: Potatoes are irrelevant to orbital laser strike activity now.

gollark: Bees bees in traffic management

Notes

See:[232][233][234][235][236][237]
See:[238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245][246][247]
See:[248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260]
See:[261][262][263][264][265]
The finals Nadal reached without losing a set were the 2007,[353] 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2017 French Opens, the 2010 US Open, and the 2019 Australian Open.[354]
The term "combined Championship Masters Series" encompasses the Grand Prix Championship Series (1970–1989), ATP Masters Series (1990–2008) and ATP Tour Masters 1000 (2009–present).
The "Clay Slam" consists of winning the Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters, Madrid Masters and French Open in the same year.[369]
The world No. 1 players who Nadal defeated were Roger Federer (13 times)[374] and Novak Djokovic (7 times).[375]

References

"Rafael Nadal". ATP Tour. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
"The pronunciation by Rafael Nadal himself". ATP Tour. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
"Rankings". ATP Tour. Retrieved 21 August 2017.
"Awards 2011". Laureus World Sports Awards. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
Clarey, Christopher (6 June 2005). "Rafael Nadal, Barely 19, He's Got Game, Looks and Remarkably Good Manners". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
"Planet football hails O Fenômeno". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
Rajaraman, Aarthi (1 June 2008). "At Home with Humble yet Ambitious Nadal". Inside Tennis. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
Kervin, Alison (23 April 2006). "The Big Interview: Rafael Nadal". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
Drucker, Joel (18 May 2010). "The Rafa Renaissance". atpworldtour.
"29 April 2002 – Rafael Nadal wins his first ATP match at home in Mallorca". tennisworldusa.org.
Tignor, Stephen (20 June 2006). "Wimbledon 2006: The Duel". Tennis Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.
"Nadal official ITF activity". Retrieved 9 August 2018.
"ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Activity". Retrieved 15 June 2012.
BNP Paribas. "Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup" (PDF). International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
"Tennis Abstract: Rafael Nadal ATP Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". www.tennisabstract.com.
"Tennis Abstract: Rafael Nadal ATP Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". www.tennisabstract.com.
"Rafael Nadal | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
Clarey, Christopher (26 June 2003). "Wimbledon Tennis: An unusual comfort zone". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
"2003 UMAG results". Retrieved 9 August 2018.
"ATP Chennai doubles info". Retrieved 10 August 2018.
"Rafael Nadal's 2004 Ranking History". ATP's official site. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
Federer-Nadal 10 Year Rivalry Archived from the original Archived 28 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
"Rafael Nadal won the first title of his career in Sopot". Retrieved 10 August 2018.
Benammar, Emily (8 July 2008). "Rafael Nadal: All you need to know". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
"Brave Hewitt battles past Nadal". BBC Sports. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"Nadal proves to be the real deal". BBC Sports. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"Teen Nadal gives Spain reign over French Open". USA Today. Associated Press. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"ATP Rankings History: Rafael Nadal". ATP Tour. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"Waske snaps Nadal's winning streak". Associated Press. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
Linden, Julian (5 January 2006). "Foot injury delays Rafael Nadal's comeback". Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"Rafael Nadal No. 1 Tribute". ATP World Tour. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
"Nadal Grabs the Golden Bagel". SideSpin Productions. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
"Champion Safin out of Aussie Open". BBC Sport. 10 January 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
Garber, Greg (31 May 2006). "With Vilas in stands, Nadal makes history". ESPN Tennis/French06. ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
Garber, Greg (12 June 2006). "Roger's reign on hold with Nadal's dominance". ESPN Tennis/French06. ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
"Shoulder Forces Nadal To Quit London Match". The New York Times. Associated Press. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
"The Battle of Surfaces". Retrieved 4 April 2007.
Cheese, Caroline (7 July 2007). "Wimbledon 2007". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2008.
Newbury, Piers (28 November 2007). "Nadal plays down foot injury fear". BBC Sport Tennis. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
"Roger & Rafa: The Rivalry". ATPtennis.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
"Men's Grand Slam Titles Without Losing A Set". International Herald Tribune. Sports. Associated Press. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
"Federer, Nadal set for Wimbledon showdown". CBCSport. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Associated Press. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
Ubha, Ravi (5 June 2008). "Nadal enters Wimbledon final with clear mental edge". ESPN. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
Peter, Bodo (5 June 2008). "Karma on Nadal's side". ESPN. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
"Federer-Nadal rivalry as good as it gets". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
Jenkins, Bruce (7 July 2008). "The Greatest Match Ever". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
Alleyne, Richard (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
Wertheim, Jon (9 July 2008). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
Alistair Magowan (7 July 2008). "Roger v Rafa – the best final ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
"Nadal wins Olympic gold over Gonzalez". Tennis.com. 17 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
"Nadal Clinches Year End No. 1 For First Time". ATPtennis.com. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
Pretot, Julien (31 October 2008). "UPDATE 2-Tennis-Knee injury forces Nadal to retire in Paris". Reuters. Retrieved 5 April 2009.
"Nadal withdraws from Masters Cup". Tennis.com. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2008.
Ubha, Ravi (30 January 2009). "One for the record books". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal Completed Matches, 2009 Australian Open". Tennis Australia. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Record-breaking Rafa Notches Up Another First". Tennishead. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.
Cambers, Simon (16 February 2009). "Murray takes title to complete hat-trick over crocked Nadal". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
"Injured Nadal pulls out of Dubai". BBC Sport. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
"Nadal beats Djokovic to help Spain clinch win". NBC Sports. Associated Press. 8 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
Rogers, Iain (8 March 2009). "Nadal beats Djokovic to put Spain through". Reuters. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
"Players". ATP World Tour.
"Nadal seals fifth Monte Carlo win". BBC Sport. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
"Nadal storms to Barcelona victory". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
"Nadal regains Rome Masters title". BBC Sport. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
"Rafael Nadal has problems in both knees, will try to rehab in time for Wimbledon". ESPN. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
"Champion Nadal out of Wimbledon". BBC News. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
"Rafael Nadal returns to tennis at Montreal Masters". GOTOTENNIS. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
"Nadal Suffers Montreal Setback". Sporting Life. 15 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
"Del Potro thrashes Nadal in semis". BBC Sport. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
"Rafael Nadal wins Abu Dhabi exhibition title". BBC Sport. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
"Davydenko shocks Nadal in final". The British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
"Murray through after Nadal injury". BBC News. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
"Ljubicic Shows Heart in semi-final Win Over Nadal". BNP Paribas Open. 20 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
"Roddick edges Nadal in three sets". ESPN News. Associated Press. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
"Unstoppable Nadal Captures Sixth Straight Title". James Buddell. ATP World Tour. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
"Soderling Stuns Federer For Semi-final Berth; Battle For No. 1 Intensifies". James Buddell. ATP World Tour. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
"Nadal fined for receiving coaching". ESPN. Associated Press. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
Brooks, Xan (4 July 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal v Tomáš Berdych – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2010. During the final match at Wimbledon 2010 between Nadal and Tomáš Berdych, someone, allegedly Toni Nadal, yelled "I love you, Rafa!"
Newbery, Piers (4 July 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal beats Berdych in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
"Tennis News: Nadal is Champion Again!". The Tennis Times. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
"Murray upsets Nadal in Rogers Cup semifinal". CBS Sports. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
"Nadal and Djokovic to play double together". News.tennisty.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
"Nadal Captures U.S. Open To Complete Career Grand Slam". The Sports Network (TSN). 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012. Nadal...also owns an Olympic gold medal, which makes him one of only two men to corral the career Golden Slam, with the great Agassi being the other.
"Rafael Nadal wins US Open to seal career Grand Slam". BBC Sport. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
"Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 For Second Time". Atpworldtour.com. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
"Nadal withdraws from fatigue at the Paris". Atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
"Nadal wins Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award". Tennis.com. Associated Press. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
"Nadal after end of the ATP World Tour Finals final "I tried my best, but Roger was better than me"". Rafaelnadal.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
"Rafael Nadal – Nadal struggles with fever in Doha". Live-tennis.com. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
"Rafa wins doubles will delay trip australia". The official nadal website. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
Gleeson, Michael (27 January 2011). "Rafa slammed: run at history falls short as Ferrer KOs ailing ace". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
"Rafael Nadal Wins in Davis Cup in Belgium, Gives Spain Lead". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
"Rafael Nadal Wins Second Match in Davis Cup, Helps Spain Dominate Belgium". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
"Djokovic beats Nadal to win BNP Paribas Open". Associated Press. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
"HARD FINAL IN MIAMI". Associated Press. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
"Nadal won seven tournaments in a row at the ATP". Associated Press. 17 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
Mitchell, Kevin (15 May 2011). "Novak Djokovic rolls on with defeat of Rafael Nadal in Rome final". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
"Rafael Nadal wins sixth French Open". ESPN. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
"Nadal collapses in front of media". BBC News. 4 September 2011.
"Davis Cup site". Daviscup.com. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
"Monfils tops Nadal, faces Tsonga in final". Yahoo Sports. 6 January 2012.
"Longest Men's Singles Championship Final". ESPN Sports. 30 January 2012.
"Stars not happy with Madrid". Incyprus.com.cy. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
Davis, Toby (11 June 2012). "Nadal wins record seventh French Open". Reuters. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win record seventh French Open title". The Times of India. 11 June 2012.
"Nadal Tops Djokovic To Break Borg's Paris Record". ATP World Tour. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
Henson, Mike (11 June 2012). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win seventh French Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal bombs out in quarterfinals at Halle". The Times of India. 15 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal falls to shock Wimbledon defeat by Lukas Rosol". BBC News. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
"Nadal withdraws from Paris and London tournaments". Retrieved 26 October 2012.
"Reigning Champion Nadal Withdraws From London Olympics". Retrieved 19 July 2012.
"Rafael Nadal out of Aussie Open". ESPN. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
"Nadal Out of Top Four, Serena Williams Rises on Rankings". Business Week. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013.
Clarke, Patrice. "Rafael Nadal Smart to Make Long-Awaited Return on Clay at 2013 ATP VTR Open". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
"Rafael Nadal to make comeback from knee injury at Brazil Open". BBC Sport. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
"Ruthless Nadal breaks records at French Open". ESPN. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
"Nadal Edges Djokovic In Montreal Thriller, Faces Raonic in Final". ATP World Tour. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
Canada (11 August 2013). "Rafael Nadal dominates Milos Raonic in Rogers Cup final". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
"Rafael Nadal beats John Isner to win Cincinnati Open". BBC Sport. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
Newbery, Piers (10 September 2013). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win second US Open title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
"Not the real prizemoney: Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams lament tax impact on record purse". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
"Rafael Nadal reaches China Open final to become world number one". BBC Sport. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
"Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in China Open final". BBC Sport. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
Rafael Nadal beats Czech Republic player Lukas Rosol to advance to second round of Qatar Open, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 1 January 2014
"Rafael Nadal beats Gael Monfils to win Qatar title". BBC Sport. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
"Australian Open 2014: Rafael Nadal 'sorry to finish this way' as injury jinx strikes again at his unlucky slam". 26 January 2014.
"Rafael Nadal wins Madrid Masters after Kei Nishikori retires". BBC Sport. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
Newbery, Piers (8 June 2014). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win ninth French Open title". BBC Sport.
"Rafael Nadal ousted in Halle". ESPN. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
Newbery, Piers (1 July 2014). "Rafael Nadal beaten by Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
"Nadal Withdraws From US Open". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Klizan Stuns Nadal To Set Berdych SF Clash". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Lopez Takes His Chance Against Nadal". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Rafael Nadal: 14-time Grand Slam winner confirms his season is over". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Rafael Nadal suffers shock defeat by Michael Berrer in Doha". BBC Sport. 6 January 2015.
Newbery, Piers (27 January 2015). "Rafael Nadal beaten by Tomas Berdych at Australian Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
"Rio Stunner! Fognini Hands Nadal First SF Loss On Clay In 12 Years". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Rafael Nadal: Argentina Open win equals clay-court title record". BBC Sport. 1 March 2015.
"Raonic Saves 3 M.P. To Upset Nadal In Indian Wells". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Rafael Nadal shocked by Fernando Verdasco at Miami Open". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to reach Monte Carlo Open final". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Rafael Nadal loses in straight sets to Fabio Fognini in Barcelona as 'King of Clay' is dethroned once again". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal to win Madrid Masters final". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Nadal falls outside Top 5 for the First Time in a Decade". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Wawrinka Denies Nadal In Rome To Set Federer Clash". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in French Open quarter-finals". Retrieved 5 June 2015.
"Nadal Reigns In Stuttgart". ATP Tour, Inc. 13 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
Newbery, Piers (16 June 2015). "Queen's: Rafael Nadal knocked out by Alexandr Dolgopolov". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
"Wimbledon 2015: Rafael Nadal beaten by Dustin Brown". BBC Sport. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
"Italian Fabio Fognini wins a late-night epic at the US Open". ATP Tour. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
"Australian Open: Rafael Nadal loses to Fernando Verdasco in first round at Melbourne Park". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
"Nadal Beats Monfils, Wins Ninth Monte-Carlo Title". ATP World Tour. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
"Nadal Notches Record-Tying 49th Clay-Court Title In Barcelona". ATP World Tour. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
"Andy Murray beats Rafa Nadal despite awful troubles with serve in Madrid Masters semi-final". 7 May 2016.
"Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters – as it happened". The Guardian. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"Injured Federer to miss French Open". Reuters. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"Nadal Records 200th Grand Slam Match Win". ATP World Tour. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
Garros, Kevin Mitchell at Roland (27 May 2016). "Rafael Nadal pulls out of French Open with wrist problem before third round". The Guardian.
"Rafael Nadal pulls out of French Open with wrist injury". BBC Sport. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
"Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Wimbledon". The New York Times. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
"Rio 2016 | Phelps comes second; Rafael Nadal wins gold in doubles on day 7". 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
"US Open 2016: Lucas Pouille beats Rafael Nadal in five sets". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
"Nadal to make Brisbane debut". ATP World Tour. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
Burton, Alex (5 January 2017). "Rafael Nadal produces ruthless display to dismiss Mischa Zverev in Brisbane second round". UBITENNIS. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
"Nadal Talks About Reaching Fifth Miami Final | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
"Monte Carlo Masters: Rafael Nadal beats Albert Ramos-Vinolas for record 10th title". BBC Sport. 23 April 2017.
"Nadal Notches 10th Barcelona Title – ATP World Tour – Tennis". 30 April 2017.
"Rafael Nadal Beats Dominic Thiem To Win Mutua Madrid Open Title | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
Gray, James (11 June 2017). "French Open 2017 Final AS IT HAPPENED: Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in stunning win".
"Nadal dominant in winning 10th French Open title". ATP. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
Sunderland, Tom. "Rafael Nadal Shocked by Gilles Muller in 5-Set Thriller at 2017 Wimbledon". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
"Nadal Storms To 75th Career Title In Beijing". ATP. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
"Garbine Muguruza joins Rafael Nadal as World No 1". The Indian Express. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
"Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking For Fourth Time | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
Imhoff, Dan (23 January 2018). "Cilic back in semis after Nadal's retirement". ausopen.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
"Davis Cup: Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer put Spain into semi-finals". BBC Sport. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
Nadal Clinches La Undécima ATP, 22 April 2018
Rafa Romps To 11th Barcelona Title ATP World Tour, 29 April 2018
Tribute: Rafa Hits 400 Clay-Court Match Wins ATP World Tour, 29 April 2018
"50 And Counting... – ATP World Tour – Tennis".
"Rafa Reigns In Rome, Returns To No. 1 – ATP World Tour – Tennis". 20 May 2018.
Rafa Rolls To 'La Undécima' At Roland Garros ATP, 10 June 2018
"Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal in epic Wimbledon semi-final". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
"Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep win Rogers Cup titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
"Paris Masters: Rafael Nadal out with injury & Roger Federer through". BBC Sport. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
"Kyrgios saves three match points, beats Nadal in Acapulco". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
"Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Indian Wells & Miami". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
"Monte Carlo Masters: Rafael Nadal loses to Fabio Fognini in semi-finals". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
"Stefanos Tsitsipas stuns Rafael Nadal in Madrid". News.com.au. News.com.au. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
"Nadal Beats Djokovic To Win Ninth Rome Title". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
"Rafa's Dozen: Nadal Claims 12th Roland Garros Crown". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
"Australian Open Tennis Tournament". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
"Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal in four sets to reach Wimbledon men's final". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
"Rafael Nadal tops Roger Federer's Masters 1000 record, becoming". Tennis World. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
"Nadal Adds To All-Time Masters 1000 Titles Record". www.atptour.com. ATP tour. 11 August 2019.
"Nadal Withdraws From Cincinnati". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
"US Open 2019: Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev to win 19th Grand Slam title". BBC Sport Tennis. BBC Sport Tennis. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
"Injury blights Nadal at Paris Masters; Djokovic into final". Spectrum News1. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
Crooks, Eleanor (15 November 2019). "Rafa Nadal exits ATP finals but ends the year as world No 1". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
"Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 ATP Ranking For Fifth Time". ATP Tour. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
"Nadal Clinches Davis Cup Title For Spain With Win Against Shapovalov". ATP Tour. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
"Spain seal sixth Davis Cup crown as Nadal and Bautista Agut down Canada in final". daviscupfinals.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
"Spain wins new-look Davis Cup after Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut record wins". ABC News (Australia). 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
"Serbia wins atp cup". abc.net.au. ABC news. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
"Thiem Stuns Nadal To Reach First Semi-final In Melbourne". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
"Mexican Open: Rafael Nadal wins third title after beating Taylor Fritz". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
Weaver, Paul (7 July 2008). "Move over McEnroe and Borg, this one will run and run in the memory". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
Flanagan, Martin. "Federer v Nadal as good as sport gets". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013.
Jago, Richard (15 August 2009). "Murray reaches world No. 2". The Observer. Retrieved 16 August 2010.
"Roger Federer Ranking History". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
"Rafael Nadal". Associate of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
"It's official: Nadal will pass Federer for No. 1". NBC Sports. Associated Press. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
"Rafael Nadal VS Roger Federer". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
"Rafa & Roger: The Rivalry". ATP World Tour. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
Alleyne, Richard (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
Wertheim, Jon (9 July 2008). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Tennis Mailbag. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
Tignor, Steve (8 July 2008). "W: Report Cards". Concrete Elbow. Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
"Analyzing Importance of Novak Djokovic's China Open Win vs. Rafael Nadal". Bleacherreport.com. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
"Rafael Nadal VS Novak Djokovic". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
"RIVALRIES OF THE DECADE". Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
Walker, Randy (3 August 2012). "Roger Federer's History-Making Olympic Epic Over Juan Martin del Potro". World Tennis Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
"Federer edges epic encounter". London2012.com. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
Clarey, Christopher (3 July 2011). "Djokovic's Dream Made Real With Wimbledon Conquest". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
Paul Gittings (29 January 2012). "Djokovic beats Nadal in marathon classic to win Australian Open". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal". Retrieved 21 May 2012.
"Rafael Nadal VS Andy Murray". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
"Nadal blows Murray away in final". BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
"Murray beats Nadal to take title". BBC Sport. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
"Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal in Japan Open final". BBC Sport. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
"Rafael Nadal VS Stan Wawrinka". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
"Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to win his 10th French Open title". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
"'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal outlasts Novak Djokovic in stirring French Open semifinal". The Plain Dealer. Associated Press. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
McMahon, James (8 June 2013). "French Open 2013: Breaking Down Why Rafael Nadal is so Dominant on Clay". Los Angeles Times. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Sarkar, Pritha (9 June 2013). "Nadal Shakes Off Protesters, Ferrer to Win French Open". NBC Sports. Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Robson, Douglas (7 June 2013). "Nadal takes down Djokovic, reaches French Open final". USA Today. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
"Rafael Nadal overcomes doubts to win 8th French title". Boston Herald. Associated Press. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Evans, Richard (6 June 2010). "Nadal roars back to King of Clay throne". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Dodds, Eric (7 June 2013). "Why Djokovic's French Open Loss Is A Win for Men's Tennis". Time. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Chu, Henry (9 June 2013). "Rafael Nadal wins a record eighth French Open tennis title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
"The king and his court". The Hindu. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Rothstein, Ethan (7 June 2013). "French Open results 2013: Rafael Nadal advances to final with 5-set victory over Novak Djokovic". SB Nation. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Bishop, Greg (11 June 2012). "Nadal Embraces History With a Record Seventh Title on the Clay of Roland Garros". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Jason Le Miere (22 May 2015). "French Open 2015 Draw: Can Rafael Nadal Beat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray And Roger Federer To Win 10th Title?". IB Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
Chris Chase (3 June 2015). "The king is dead: Rafael Nadal blown out at French Open". USA Today Sports. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
"Le jury de l'Equipe vote Nadal" [Le jury of l'Equipe vote Nadal] (in French). L'Equipe. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
Matt Cronin (9 November 2012). "McEnroe: Federer the best ever". Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
Douglas Robson (30 May 2015). "How one court at Roland Garros helps Rafael Nadal dominate French Open". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
St. John, Allen (7 June 2012). "The Greatest Men's Tennis Player of All Time Is at the French Open". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Eckstein, Jeremy (9 June 2013). "Where Rafael Nadal Fits in the Greatest of All Time Debate". Los Angeles Times. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Goldring, Fred (6 June 2011). "Could Rafa Nadal Be the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time?". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Bowen, Fred (31 August 2011). "Who's the best tennis player of all time?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Gaines, Cork (10 June 2013). "Rafael Nadal Is Challenging Roger Federer for the Title Of 'Greatest of All Time'". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
"Tennis' top 20 of all time". ESPN. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
"Tennis podcast: 'Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the greatest of all time', says John McEnroe". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
J.S. (13 September 2017). "Sorry, Roger: Rafael Nadal is not just the king of clay". The Economist. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
Mahesh Bhupathi (11 September 2017). "Rafael Nadal's third US Open title win sparks 'greatest ever' Twitter debate". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
Charlie Eccleshare (16 June 2017). "Tennis Debate: Is Rafael Nadal not Roger Federer the greatest ever?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
Will Swanton (12 June 2017). "Nadal v Federer, who is the greatest of all time?". The Australian. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
The Economist (13 September 2017). "Sorry, Roger: Rafael Nadal is not just the king of clay". The Economist. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
Himanshu Shekhar Mishra (31 January 2017). "Rafa -the other greatest". Pragativadi. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
"Andre Agassi picks Rafael Nadal ahead of Roger Federer as tennis's greatest all-time player". The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
Wiedmer, Mark (10 June 2013). "Wiedmer: Nadal may now argue for best ever". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
Snellings, Mark (13 June 2018). "Rafael Nadal is not only the King of Clay, he's the GOAT". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
Jon Anderson (11 September 2017). "Rafa Nadal should be considered the greatest of all time, not Roger Federer, writes Jon Anderson". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
Aaron Gales (22 May 2020). "Is Rafael Nadal already the greatest of all time?". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
"Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion – Book Review". Tennis Files. 26 October 2015.
"Nadal Has Improved Virtually Every Aspect of His Game". ESPN. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
Cooper, Jeff. "Rafael Nadal – Game Profile". Retrieved 30 July 2007.
"Rafael Nadal's Drop Volley". Tennis Magazine. 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"How To Hold A Tennis Racket". Retrieved 19 January 2015.
"Essential Tennis – Rafael Nadal's Forehand Grip Revealed". Retrieved 19 January 2015.
Clarey, Christopher (27 June 2006). "More and More Players Deliver Slap to Classic Forehand". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
Gorney, Cynthia (17 June 2009). "Ripped. (Or Torn Up?)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
"The Forehand of Rafael Nadal". Tennis Magazine. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
White, Clive (6 July 2008). "Rafael Nadal Determined to Keep One Step Ahead of Roger Federer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger. "12 September 2010". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
Timothy Rapp (30 January 2012). "Rafael Nadal: Rafa Must Improve Serve to Beat Novak Djokovic". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
Thomas Skuzinski (22 August 2011). "Rafael Nadal's Serve, and 7 Other Weak Shots Among the Top 8 Men". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
Naharnet Newsdesk (13 September 2011). "Beaten Nadal Vows to Turn Tables on Djokovic". Naharnet. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
Plaza, Rafael (25 January 2019). "2010 or 2019: Which Rafa Serve Is More Potent?".
ATP staff (8 July 2019). "Nadal Ruthless On Serve To Reach Wimbledon Quarter-finals".
Jeff (26 January 2019). "The Impact of Rafael Nadal's New Serve".
ATP staff (10 January 2019). "Rafa Ready To Unveil Revamped Serve".
Karthikeyan, Rishi (20 May 2020). "Carlos Moya On Rafael Nadal Improving Serve".
Jeff (26 January 2019). "The Impact of Rafael Nadal's New Serve".
O’Shannessy, Craig (4 June 2020). "Is serve and volley dead? Not so according to the world's leading tennis strategy expert".
"No limit to what Nadal can accomplish". ESPN. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
"Style of play catching up with Rafa?". ESPN. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Oz Champ Nadal Wants Changes in Tennis Schedule". Tennis Magazine. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
"Rafael Nadal's astonishing resilience". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
"Report: Toni Nadal to stop traveling with Rafa at the end of '17". Tennis.com.
"Francisco Roig: "In Some Ways, This Is Our Biggest Goal" – ATP World Tour – Tennis". atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
"Rafael Nadal hires Carlos Moya as he bids to revive injury-hit career". CNN. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
Kia Nadal versus Alien Video.
"Rafael Nadal and Kia Motors double up for another five years". Hyundai Motor Group. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
"The Beefcake in the Backcourt". New York. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Rafa Needs More Than a New Look". ESPN. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Rafael Nadal to Launch New, More Traditional Image at US Open". Sports Business Daily. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Nadal's Wardrobe Malfunction". CNBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Fashion Focus: Rafael Nadal". Tennis Served Fresh. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Nike Bold New Tennis Crew". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Nadal Long Check Shortsbhnu". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Rafa's Costume Change". Tennis Served Fresh. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Emperor's New Clothes". Tennis Magazine. 24 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Nike Air CourtBallistec 1.3". Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
Marie-Helene Wagner (3 March 2009). "Lanvin L'Homme Sport (2009): Fronted by Rafael Nadal". Mimifroufrou.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
"Nadal Doesn't Use an APDC". Talk Tennis. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"The Tennis Racket". ESPN. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
"Rafa Nadal is Quely's embassador". Rafaelnadal.com. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
Corder, Rob (5 April 2010). "Rafael Nadal to wear $525,000 Richard Mille watch". Professional Jeweller.
"Nadal Wears $525K Watch at French Open". mensfitness.com. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
"Rafael Nadal strips to his undies for Armani". Typicallyspanish.com. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
Cowles, Charlotte. "Rafael Nadal Replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the New Face of Emporio Armani Underwear". New York. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
"Tennis Champion Rafael Nadal Joins Team PokerStars". Poker News. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
"Daily Bagel: Nadal accepts Ronaldo's poker game challenge". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
"Nadal Has Barcelona Centre Court Named After Him".
"Music video for "Gypsy" by Shakira featuring Rafael Nadal". Retrieved 6 June 2010 – via YouTube.
"Shakira: I Chose Nadal for Video Because I "Identify with Him"". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
Source: Penny Newton (24 February 2010). "Shakira's Sexy New Video Gypsy". MTV. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
"Asteroid Named After Rafael Nadal". ATP World Tour. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
MallorcaJuly 13, Indo-Asian News Service Palma de; July 13, 2008UPDATED; Ist, 2008 10:59. "Asteroid named after tennis star Nadal". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
"The Brand Rafael Nadal: Businesses (Part 2)". Score and Change. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
"Nadal Lends Hand To Million Trees Project". ATP World Tour. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
"Rafa Nadal Foundation". Fundacionrafanadal.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
"Rafael Nadal launches foundation". Earth Times News. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
"Rafa and his foundation in India". The Official Rafa Nadal Website. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
Janyala, Sreenivas (18 October 2010). "Rafa in India to promote tennis school". The Indian Express. Mumbai.
"Rafael Nadal opens his tennis academy centre to Majorca flood victims". BBC Sport. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
"Nadal joins Majorca clean-up effort". BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
Bohórquez, Lucía (20 December 2018). "Tennis star Rafael Nadal donates €1m to victims of Mallorca flash floods". El País. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
"Rafa Nadal donates €1 million for Rebuilding Sant Llorenç des Cardassar". Tennis World USA. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
Sobot, Rita (20 December 2018). "Rafael Nadal donates â'¬1million to Mallorca flood victims". mirror. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
"PHOTOS/VIDEO: Olazábal & Nadal Invitational 2018 charity golf tournament – 15 Декабря 2018 – RAFA NADAL – KING OF TENNIS". rafanadal-kingoftennis.ru. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
"Nadal donates one million to Sant LlorenÃ§". Majorca Daily Bulletin. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
"Nadal donates $1.1 million to victims of flash floods in Spain's Mallorca". www.efe.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
"Rafael Nadal: Charity Work & Causes". Look to the Stars. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
"Soccer-Rafa Nadal becomes shareholder at troubled Real Mallorca". Reuters. 9 July 2010.
"Sale of the club completed". Real Mallorca. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.
Hunter, Graham (9 September 2010). "Rafa to the rescue". ESPN. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
"Personal woes affecting Rafa?". ESPN. 23 July 2009.
"Q&A with Rafael Nadal". Sports Illustrated. 16 July 2010.
Johnson, Christopher (8 October 2010). "Rafael Nadal: The 'Dragon Ball' of tennis". CNN. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
Smith, Bill (28 March 2012). "Away from tennis court, Rafael Nadal seeks a golf course". The Miami Herald.
Rafa Nadal [@RafaelNadal] (11 April 2014). "Great experience playing with the world's number 1 female poker player Vanessa and very happy to have learned a lot" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Tandon, Kamakshi (26 August 2011). "U.S. Open – Twenty things we learn in Rafael Nadal's autobiography". ESPN. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
"Así es Mery Perelló, la mujer de Rafa Nadal" (in Spanish). ABC. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
"¿Por qué Xisca Perelló se llama ahora Mery?" (in Spanish). Diario de Mallorca. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
"La mujer de Nadal nunca fue Xisca, sino Mery Perelló" (in Spanish). Diario AS. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
"Rafael Nadal engaged to girlfriend of 14 years Mery Perello". CNN. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
Boyle, Kelli (19 October 2019). "Tennis Star Rafael Nadal Marries Maria Francisca Perello In Spain". E! Online. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
"Nadal Completes Career Grand Slam With US Open Title". ATP World Tour. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
Clarey, Christopher (13 September 2010). "Nadal Caps Career Grand Slam". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
"History – Past Tournaments – 2007: Hat-trick for Nadal and Henin". RolandGarros.com. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
Hodgkinson, Mark (11 September 2010). "Rafael Nadal reaches first final in New York after win over Mikhail Youzhny". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
Sarkar, Pritha (9 June 2012). "Djokovic faces ultimate challenge against Nadal". Reuters. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
Bhagavatula, Manoj (12 June 2017). "Nadal's quest to reach La Décima". ESPN. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
Tandon, Kamakshi (24 December 2009). "What's your tennis IQ? – 2009 tennis holiday quiz". ESPN. Retrieved 18 June 2012. [Nadal's] Australian Open title made him the first man to simultaneously hold majors on clay, grass and hard courts.
"Nadal's records – over Federer. These are records Federer SHOULD have held – by a mile". tennisplanet.me. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
Garber, Greg (13 September 2010). "Nadal's three-peat no small feat". ESPN. Retrieved 14 June 2012. [W]inning on three different surfaces in that narrow time frame is unprecedented.
Cheese, Caroline (29 January 2012). "Australian Open: Djokovic outlasts Nadal in longest Grand Slam singles final ever". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals.
Garber, Greg (29 January 2012). "Djokovic now on the brink of history". ESPN. Retrieved 28 April 2012. [Nadal] became the first man in the Open era to lose three consecutive finals.
"Record Breakers". RolandGarros.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
Sarkar, Pritha (8 June 2012). "Djokovic, Nadal looking to become record collectors". Reuters. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
"Grand Slam History". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal captures eighth French Open crown". USA Today. Associated Press. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
Pells, Eddie (11 June 2012). "Rafael Nadal tops Novak Djokovic for record seventh French Open title". National Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
Clarey, Christopher (6 June 2005). "French Open: Nadal triumphs at first attempt". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
Tandon, Kamakshi (17 June 2011). "Nadal eyes another Channel Slam". ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
"Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2010 – first player to win a "Clay Slam" in a season, winning three ATP Masters 1000 titles (Monte Carlo*, Rome*, Madrid*) along with Roland Garros.
Bhagavatula, Manoj (23 April 2017). "Rafael Nadal becomes first man to win same tournament 10 times". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
"Performance Career Overall From All Countries". ATP Tour. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
Macur, Juliet (8 June 2007). "Tennis: Federer vs. Nadal to meet again in French Open final". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
"Federer ends Nadal's clay streak". BBC Sport. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
"Nadal–Federer Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
"Nadal–Djokovic Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
"FedEx ATP Reliability Index – Winning percentage on Clay". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
"Performance Career Outdoor From All Countries". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
"50 And Counting..." ATP World Tour. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
Briggs, Simon (22 April 2012). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win eighth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
"Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2006 – Tied Borg with his 16th career teenage title in Rome, most in Open Era.

External links

Official website (in Spanish)

Profiles

Rafael Nadal at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Rafael Nadal at the International Tennis Federation
Rafael Nadal at the Davis Cup
Rafael Nadal on IMDb

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[238] See:[232][233][234][235][236][237]

[249] See:[238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245][246][247]

[263] See:[248][249][250][251][252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260]

[269] See:[261][262][263][264][265]

[359] The finals Nadal reached without losing a set were the 2007,[353] 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2017 French Opens, the 2010 US Open, and the 2019 Australian Open.[354]

[CMS-374] The term "combined Championship Masters Series" encompasses the Grand Prix Championship Series (1970–1989), ATP Masters Series (1990–2008) and ATP Tour Masters 1000 (2009–present).

[376] The "Clay Slam" consists of winning the Monte Carlo Masters, Rome Masters, Madrid Masters and French Open in the same year.[369]

[383] The world No. 1 players who Nadal defeated were Roger Federer (13 times)[374] and Novak Djokovic (7 times).[375]

[1] "Rafael Nadal". ATP Tour. Retrieved 3 February 2020.

[2] "The pronunciation by Rafael Nadal himself". ATP Tour. Retrieved 22 October 2017.

[Rankings:_Singles-3] "Rankings". ATP Tour. Retrieved 21 August 2017.

[4] "Awards 2011". Laureus World Sports Awards. Retrieved 13 August 2014.

[times-5] Clarey, Christopher (6 June 2005). "Rafael Nadal, Barely 19, He's Got Game, Looks and Remarkably Good Manners". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[6] "Planet football hails O Fenômeno". FIFA.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.

[Rajaraman-7] Rajaraman, Aarthi (1 June 2008). "At Home with Humble yet Ambitious Nadal". Inside Tennis. Archived from the original on 9 June 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[timesonline-8] Kervin, Alison (23 April 2006). "The Big Interview: Rafael Nadal". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[rafarenaissance-9] Drucker, Joel (18 May 2010). "The Rafa Renaissance". atpworldtour.

[10] "29 April 2002 – Rafael Nadal wins his first ATP match at home in Mallorca". tennisworldusa.org.

[Tennis.com-11] Tignor, Stephen (20 June 2006). "Wimbledon 2006: The Duel". Tennis Magazine. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 8 November 2008.

[ITFbio-12] "Nadal official ITF activity". Retrieved 9 August 2018.

[ITFTennis-13] "ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Activity". Retrieved 15 June 2012.

[JDC_and_JFC-14] BNP Paribas. "Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup" (PDF). International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2016.

[tennisabstract.com-15] "Tennis Abstract: Rafael Nadal ATP Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". www.tennisabstract.com.

[16] "Tennis Abstract: Rafael Nadal ATP Match Results, Splits, and Analysis". www.tennisabstract.com.

[17] "Rafael Nadal | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.

[18] Clarey, Christopher (26 June 2003). "Wimbledon Tennis: An unusual comfort zone". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[19] "2003 UMAG results". Retrieved 9 August 2018.

[20] "ATP Chennai doubles info". Retrieved 10 August 2018.

[21] "Rafael Nadal's 2004 Ranking History". ATP's official site. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[22] Federer-Nadal 10 Year Rivalry Archived from the original Archived 28 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine

[23] "Rafael Nadal won the first title of his career in Sopot". Retrieved 10 August 2018.

[telenadkno1-24] Benammar, Emily (8 July 2008). "Rafael Nadal: All you need to know". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[25] "Brave Hewitt battles past Nadal". BBC Sports. 24 January 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[26] "Nadal proves to be the real deal". BBC Sports. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[27] "Teen Nadal gives Spain reign over French Open". USA Today. Associated Press. 5 June 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[ranking2005-28] "ATP Rankings History: Rafael Nadal". ATP Tour. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[29] "Waske snaps Nadal's winning streak". Associated Press. 10 June 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[30] Linden, Julian (5 January 2006). "Foot injury delays Rafael Nadal's comeback". Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[2005eleven-31] "Rafael Nadal No. 1 Tribute". ATP World Tour. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2009.

[32] "Nadal Grabs the Golden Bagel". SideSpin Productions. 11 December 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2010.

[33] "Champion Safin out of Aussie Open". BBC Sport. 10 January 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2008.

[34] Garber, Greg (31 May 2006). "With Vilas in stands, Nadal makes history". ESPN Tennis/French06. ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2008.

[35] Garber, Greg (12 June 2006). "Roger's reign on hold with Nadal's dominance". ESPN Tennis/French06. ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2008.

[36] "Shoulder Forces Nadal To Quit London Match". The New York Times. Associated Press. 17 June 2006. Retrieved 13 November 2008.

[37] "The Battle of Surfaces". Retrieved 4 April 2007.

[38] Cheese, Caroline (7 July 2007). "Wimbledon 2007". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 November 2008.

[39] Newbury, Piers (28 November 2007). "Nadal plays down foot injury fear". BBC Sport Tennis. Retrieved 11 February 2009.

[therivalry-40] "Roger & Rafa: The Rivalry". ATPtennis.com. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.

[41] "Men's Grand Slam Titles Without Losing A Set". International Herald Tribune. Sports. Associated Press. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.

[wim2008pre-42] "Federer, Nadal set for Wimbledon showdown". CBCSport. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Associated Press. 5 June 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2009.

[nadaledge-43] Ubha, Ravi (5 June 2008). "Nadal enters Wimbledon final with clear mental edge". ESPN. Retrieved 11 February 2009.

[44] Peter, Bodo (5 June 2008). "Karma on Nadal's side". ESPN. Retrieved 11 February 2009.

[asgoodasitgets-45] "Federer-Nadal rivalry as good as it gets". International Herald Tribune. Associated Press. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[greatestmatchever-46] Jenkins, Bruce (7 July 2008). "The Greatest Match Ever". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2008.

[McEnroe-47] Alleyne, Richard (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 August 2008.

[wertheimgreatest-48] Wertheim, Jon (9 July 2008). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 4 April 2009.

[49] Alistair Magowan (7 July 2008). "Roger v Rafa – the best final ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 July 2008.

[50] "Nadal wins Olympic gold over Gonzalez". Tennis.com. 17 August 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 5 April 2009.

[51] "Nadal Clinches Year End No. 1 For First Time". ATPtennis.com. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2008.

[52] Pretot, Julien (31 October 2008). "UPDATE 2-Tennis-Knee injury forces Nadal to retire in Paris". Reuters. Retrieved 5 April 2009.

[53] "Nadal withdraws from Masters Cup". Tennis.com. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2008.

[54] Ubha, Ravi (30 January 2009). "One for the record books". ESPN. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[55] "Rafael Nadal Completed Matches, 2009 Australian Open". Tennis Australia. 30 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[56] "Record-breaking Rafa Notches Up Another First". Tennishead. 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 9 April 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2009.

[57] Cambers, Simon (16 February 2009). "Murray takes title to complete hat-trick over crocked Nadal". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 February 2009.

[58] "Injured Nadal pulls out of Dubai". BBC Sport. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.

[59] "Nadal beats Djokovic to help Spain clinch win". NBC Sports. Associated Press. 8 March 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

[60] Rogers, Iain (8 March 2009). "Nadal beats Djokovic to put Spain through". Reuters. Retrieved 13 June 2010.

[61] "Players". ATP World Tour.

[62] "Nadal seals fifth Monte Carlo win". BBC Sport. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2009.

[63] "Nadal storms to Barcelona victory". BBC Sport. 26 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.

[64] "Nadal regains Rome Masters title". BBC Sport. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.

[65] "Rafael Nadal has problems in both knees, will try to rehab in time for Wimbledon". ESPN. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[news.bbc.co.uk-66] "Champion Nadal out of Wimbledon". BBC News. 19 June 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

[67] "Rafael Nadal returns to tennis at Montreal Masters". GOTOTENNIS. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 5 August 2009.

[68] "Nadal Suffers Montreal Setback". Sporting Life. 15 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2009.

[69] "Del Potro thrashes Nadal in semis". BBC Sport. 13 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.

[70] "Rafael Nadal wins Abu Dhabi exhibition title". BBC Sport. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.

[bbcqatar-71] "Davydenko shocks Nadal in final". The British Broadcasting Corporation. 9 January 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2010.

[72] "Murray through after Nadal injury". BBC News. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

[73] "Ljubicic Shows Heart in semi-final Win Over Nadal". BNP Paribas Open. 20 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[74] "Roddick edges Nadal in three sets". ESPN News. Associated Press. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2010.

[75] "Unstoppable Nadal Captures Sixth Straight Title". James Buddell. ATP World Tour. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2010.

[76] "Soderling Stuns Federer For Semi-final Berth; Battle For No. 1 Intensifies". James Buddell. ATP World Tour. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[77] "Nadal fined for receiving coaching". ESPN. Associated Press. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2012.

[78] Brooks, Xan (4 July 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal v Tomáš Berdych – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2010. During the final match at Wimbledon 2010 between Nadal and Tomáš Berdych, someone, allegedly Toni Nadal, yelled "I love you, Rafa!"

[BBC-8784861-79] Newbery, Piers (4 July 2010). "Wimbledon 2010: Rafael Nadal beats Berdych in final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2010.

[80] "Tennis News: Nadal is Champion Again!". The Tennis Times. 22 January 2010. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

[81] "Murray upsets Nadal in Rogers Cup semifinal". CBS Sports. 14 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2010.

[82] "Nadal and Djokovic to play double together". News.tennisty.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

[goldenslam-83] "Nadal Captures U.S. Open To Complete Career Grand Slam". The Sports Network (TSN). 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2012. Nadal...also owns an Olympic gold medal, which makes him one of only two men to corral the career Golden Slam, with the great Agassi being the other.

[84] "Rafael Nadal wins US Open to seal career Grand Slam". BBC Sport. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.

[85] "Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 For Second Time". Atpworldtour.com. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

[86] "Nadal withdraws from fatigue at the Paris". Atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

[87] "Nadal wins Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award". Tennis.com. Associated Press. 20 November 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[88] "Nadal after end of the ATP World Tour Finals final "I tried my best, but Roger was better than me"". Rafaelnadal.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

[89] "Rafael Nadal – Nadal struggles with fever in Doha". Live-tennis.com. 8 January 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[90] "Rafa wins doubles will delay trip australia". The official nadal website. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2011.

[91] Gleeson, Michael (27 January 2011). "Rafa slammed: run at history falls short as Ferrer KOs ailing ace". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 January 2011.

[92] "Rafael Nadal Wins in Davis Cup in Belgium, Gives Spain Lead". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 4 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.

[93] "Rafael Nadal Wins Second Match in Davis Cup, Helps Spain Dominate Belgium". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. 6 March 2011. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.

[94] "Djokovic beats Nadal to win BNP Paribas Open". Associated Press. 20 March 2011. Archived from the original on 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2011.

[95] "HARD FINAL IN MIAMI". Associated Press. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2011.

[96] "Nadal won seven tournaments in a row at the ATP". Associated Press. 17 April 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011.

[97] Mitchell, Kevin (15 May 2011). "Novak Djokovic rolls on with defeat of Rafael Nadal in Rome final". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2011.

[98] "Rafael Nadal wins sixth French Open". ESPN. 6 June 2011. Retrieved 7 June 2011.

[99] "Nadal collapses in front of media". BBC News. 4 September 2011.

[100] "Davis Cup site". Daviscup.com. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

[101] "Monfils tops Nadal, faces Tsonga in final". Yahoo Sports. 6 January 2012.

[102] "Longest Men's Singles Championship Final". ESPN Sports. 30 January 2012.

[103] "Stars not happy with Madrid". Incyprus.com.cy. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2012.

[104] Davis, Toby (11 June 2012). "Nadal wins record seventh French Open". Reuters. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[105] "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win record seventh French Open title". The Times of India. 11 June 2012.

[RG7-106] "Nadal Tops Djokovic To Break Borg's Paris Record". ATP World Tour. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[107] Henson, Mike (11 June 2012). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win seventh French Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[108] "Rafael Nadal bombs out in quarterfinals at Halle". The Times of India. 15 June 2012.

[109] "Rafael Nadal falls to shock Wimbledon defeat by Lukas Rosol". BBC News. 28 June 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.

[110] "Nadal withdraws from Paris and London tournaments". Retrieved 26 October 2012.

[111] "Reigning Champion Nadal Withdraws From London Olympics". Retrieved 19 July 2012.

[112] "Rafael Nadal out of Aussie Open". ESPN. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

[113] "Nadal Out of Top Four, Serena Williams Rises on Rankings". Business Week. 28 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 July 2013.

[114] Clarke, Patrice. "Rafael Nadal Smart to Make Long-Awaited Return on Clay at 2013 ATP VTR Open". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 1 February 2013.

[115] "Rafael Nadal to make comeback from knee injury at Brazil Open". BBC Sport. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.

[116] "Ruthless Nadal breaks records at French Open". ESPN. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2016.

[CO2013-117] "Nadal Edges Djokovic In Montreal Thriller, Faces Raonic in Final". ATP World Tour. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

[TGaM-118] Canada (11 August 2013). "Rafael Nadal dominates Milos Raonic in Rogers Cup final". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

[119] "Rafael Nadal beats John Isner to win Cincinnati Open". BBC Sport. 18 August 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2018.

[120] Newbery, Piers (10 September 2013). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win second US Open title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[121] "Not the real prizemoney: Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams lament tax impact on record purse". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[122] "Rafael Nadal reaches China Open final to become world number one". BBC Sport. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.

[123] "Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in China Open final". BBC Sport. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2014.

[124] Rafael Nadal beats Czech Republic player Lukas Rosol to advance to second round of Qatar Open, ABC Grandstand Sport (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 1 January 2014

[125] "Rafael Nadal beats Gael Monfils to win Qatar title". BBC Sport. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[126] "Australian Open 2014: Rafael Nadal 'sorry to finish this way' as injury jinx strikes again at his unlucky slam". 26 January 2014.

[bbc.co.uk-127] "Rafael Nadal wins Madrid Masters after Kei Nishikori retires". BBC Sport. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2014.

[2014_French_open-128] Newbery, Piers (8 June 2014). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win ninth French Open title". BBC Sport.

[129] "Rafael Nadal ousted in Halle". ESPN. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.

[Wimbledon_2014-130] Newbery, Piers (1 July 2014). "Rafael Nadal beaten by Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 July 2014.

[131] "Nadal Withdraws From US Open". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[132] "Klizan Stuns Nadal To Set Berdych SF Clash". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[133] "Lopez Takes His Chance Against Nadal". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[134] "Rafael Nadal: 14-time Grand Slam winner confirms his season is over". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[135] "Rafael Nadal suffers shock defeat by Michael Berrer in Doha". BBC Sport. 6 January 2015.

[136] Newbery, Piers (27 January 2015). "Rafael Nadal beaten by Tomas Berdych at Australian Open". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 May 2015.

[137] "Rio Stunner! Fognini Hands Nadal First SF Loss On Clay In 12 Years". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[138] "Rafael Nadal: Argentina Open win equals clay-court title record". BBC Sport. 1 March 2015.

[139] "Raonic Saves 3 M.P. To Upset Nadal In Indian Wells". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[140] "Rafael Nadal shocked by Fernando Verdasco at Miami Open". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[141] "Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal to reach Monte Carlo Open final". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[142] "Rafael Nadal loses in straight sets to Fabio Fognini in Barcelona as 'King of Clay' is dethroned once again". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[143] "Andy Murray beats Rafael Nadal to win Madrid Masters final". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[144] "Nadal falls outside Top 5 for the First Time in a Decade". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[145] "Wawrinka Denies Nadal In Rome To Set Federer Clash". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[146] "Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in French Open quarter-finals". Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[147] "Nadal Reigns In Stuttgart". ATP Tour, Inc. 13 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.

[148] Newbery, Piers (16 June 2015). "Queen's: Rafael Nadal knocked out by Alexandr Dolgopolov". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.

[149] "Wimbledon 2015: Rafael Nadal beaten by Dustin Brown". BBC Sport. 2 July 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.

[150] "Italian Fabio Fognini wins a late-night epic at the US Open". ATP Tour. 5 September 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

[151] "Australian Open: Rafael Nadal loses to Fernando Verdasco in first round at Melbourne Park". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 19 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.

[152] "Nadal Beats Monfils, Wins Ninth Monte-Carlo Title". ATP World Tour. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

[153] "Nadal Notches Record-Tying 49th Clay-Court Title In Barcelona". ATP World Tour. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.

[154] "Andy Murray beats Rafa Nadal despite awful troubles with serve in Madrid Masters semi-final". 7 May 2016.

[155] "Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters – as it happened". The Guardian. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.

[156] "Injured Federer to miss French Open". Reuters. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.

[157] "Nadal Records 200th Grand Slam Match Win". ATP World Tour. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.

[158] Garros, Kevin Mitchell at Roland (27 May 2016). "Rafael Nadal pulls out of French Open with wrist problem before third round". The Guardian.

[159] "Rafael Nadal pulls out of French Open with wrist injury". BBC Sport. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.

[160] "Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Wimbledon". The New York Times. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2019.

[161] "Rio 2016 | Phelps comes second; Rafael Nadal wins gold in doubles on day 7". 13 August 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.

[162] "US Open 2016: Lucas Pouille beats Rafael Nadal in five sets". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 September 2016.

[163] "Nadal to make Brisbane debut". ATP World Tour. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.

[164] Burton, Alex (5 January 2017). "Rafael Nadal produces ruthless display to dismiss Mischa Zverev in Brisbane second round". UBITENNIS. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

[165] "Nadal Talks About Reaching Fifth Miami Final | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.

[166] "Monte Carlo Masters: Rafael Nadal beats Albert Ramos-Vinolas for record 10th title". BBC Sport. 23 April 2017.

[167] "Nadal Notches 10th Barcelona Title – ATP World Tour – Tennis". 30 April 2017.

[168] "Rafael Nadal Beats Dominic Thiem To Win Mutua Madrid Open Title | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.

[169] Gray, James (11 June 2017). "French Open 2017 Final AS IT HAPPENED: Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in stunning win".

[170] "Nadal dominant in winning 10th French Open title". ATP. Retrieved 11 June 2017.

[171] Sunderland, Tom. "Rafael Nadal Shocked by Gilles Muller in 5-Set Thriller at 2017 Wimbledon". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[172] "Nadal Storms To 75th Career Title In Beijing". ATP. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.

[173] "Garbine Muguruza joins Rafael Nadal as World No 1". The Indian Express. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.

[174] "Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking For Fourth Time | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.

[175] Imhoff, Dan (23 January 2018). "Cilic back in semis after Nadal's retirement". ausopen.com. Retrieved 23 January 2018.

[176] "Davis Cup: Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer put Spain into semi-finals". BBC Sport. 8 April 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2019.

[177] Nadal Clinches La Undécima ATP, 22 April 2018

[178] Rafa Romps To 11th Barcelona Title ATP World Tour, 29 April 2018

[179] Tribute: Rafa Hits 400 Clay-Court Match Wins ATP World Tour, 29 April 2018

[180] "50 And Counting... – ATP World Tour – Tennis".

[181] "Rafa Reigns In Rome, Returns To No. 1 – ATP World Tour – Tennis". 20 May 2018.

[182] Rafa Rolls To 'La Undécima' At Roland Garros ATP, 10 June 2018

[183] "Novak Djokovic outlasts Rafael Nadal in epic Wimbledon semi-final". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2018.

[184] "Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep win Rogers Cup titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2018.

[185] "Paris Masters: Rafael Nadal out with injury & Roger Federer through". BBC Sport. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.

[186] "Kyrgios saves three match points, beats Nadal in Acapulco". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved 6 March 2019.

[187] "Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Indian Wells & Miami". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

[188] "Monte Carlo Masters: Rafael Nadal loses to Fabio Fognini in semi-finals". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

[189] "Stefanos Tsitsipas stuns Rafael Nadal in Madrid". News.com.au. News.com.au. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

[190] "Nadal Beats Djokovic To Win Ninth Rome Title". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

[191] "Rafa's Dozen: Nadal Claims 12th Roland Garros Crown". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

[192] "Australian Open Tennis Tournament". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 9 July 2019.

[193] "Roger Federer beats Rafael Nadal in four sets to reach Wimbledon men's final". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 July 2019.

[194] "Rafael Nadal tops Roger Federer's Masters 1000 record, becoming". Tennis World. Retrieved 10 August 2019.

[195] "Nadal Adds To All-Time Masters 1000 Titles Record". www.atptour.com. ATP tour. 11 August 2019.

[196] "Nadal Withdraws From Cincinnati". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 19 August 2019.

[197] "US Open 2019: Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev to win 19th Grand Slam title". BBC Sport Tennis. BBC Sport Tennis. Retrieved 10 September 2019.

[198] "Injury blights Nadal at Paris Masters; Djokovic into final". Spectrum News1. Retrieved 2 November 2019.

[199] Crooks, Eleanor (15 November 2019). "Rafa Nadal exits ATP finals but ends the year as world No 1". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 November 2019.

[200] "Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1 ATP Ranking For Fifth Time". ATP Tour. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

[201] "Nadal Clinches Davis Cup Title For Spain With Win Against Shapovalov". ATP Tour. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.

[202] "Spain seal sixth Davis Cup crown as Nadal and Bautista Agut down Canada in final". daviscupfinals.com. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.

[2019_DCF_ABC-203] "Spain wins new-look Davis Cup after Rafael Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut record wins". ABC News (Australia). 25 November 2019. Retrieved 25 November 2019.

[204] "Serbia wins atp cup". abc.net.au. ABC news. Retrieved 14 January 2020.

[205] "Thiem Stuns Nadal To Reach First Semi-final In Melbourne". ATP Tour. ATP Tour. Retrieved 30 January 2020.

[206] "Mexican Open: Rafael Nadal wins third title after beating Taylor Fritz". BBC Sport. BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 March 2020.

[moveoverborgmac-207] Weaver, Paul (7 July 2008). "Move over McEnroe and Borg, this one will run and run in the memory". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[asgoodassportgets-208] Flanagan, Martin. "Federer v Nadal as good as sport gets". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013.

[209] Jago, Richard (15 August 2009). "Murray reaches world No. 2". The Observer. Retrieved 16 August 2010.

[210] "Roger Federer Ranking History". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

[211] "Rafael Nadal". Associate of Tennis Professionals. Archived from the original on 8 February 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2013.

[nadalnum1-212] "It's official: Nadal will pass Federer for No. 1". NBC Sports. Associated Press. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 19 October 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[213] "Rafael Nadal VS Roger Federer". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[atp-therivalry-214] "Rafa & Roger: The Rivalry". ATP World Tour. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.

[McEnroe-greatestmatch-215] Alleyne, Richard (7 July 2008). "Wimbledon 2008: John McEnroe hails Rafael Nadal victory as greatest final ever". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[wertheim-greatestmatch-216] Wertheim, Jon (9 July 2008). "Without a doubt, it's the greatest". Tennis Mailbag. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[tignor-greatestmatch-217] Tignor, Steve (8 July 2008). "W: Report Cards". Concrete Elbow. Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 February 2009.

[218] "Analyzing Importance of Novak Djokovic's China Open Win vs. Rafael Nadal". Bleacherreport.com. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

[Rafael_Nadal_VS_Novak_Djokovic-219] "Rafael Nadal VS Novak Djokovic". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[220] "RIVALRIES OF THE DECADE". Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2020.

[OlympicEpic-221] Walker, Randy (3 August 2012). "Roger Federer's History-Making Olympic Epic Over Juan Martin del Potro". World Tennis Magazine. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

[222] "Federer edges epic encounter". London2012.com. 3 August 2012. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

[223] Clarey, Christopher (3 July 2011). "Djokovic's Dream Made Real With Wimbledon Conquest". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 July 2011.

[224] Paul Gittings (29 January 2012). "Djokovic beats Nadal in marathon classic to win Australian Open". CNN. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2012.

[225] "Rafael Nadal". Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[226] "Rafael Nadal VS Andy Murray". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[227] "Nadal blows Murray away in final". BBC Sport. 22 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

[228] "Murray beats Nadal to take title". BBC Sport. 15 February 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

[229] "Andy Murray defeats Rafael Nadal in Japan Open final". BBC Sport. 9 October 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

[230] "Rafael Nadal VS Stan Wawrinka". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[231] "Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to win his 10th French Open title". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[Plain_Dealer_King_of_Clay-232] "'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal outlasts Novak Djokovic in stirring French Open semifinal". The Plain Dealer. Associated Press. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[LA_Times_French_Open_2013-233] McMahon, James (8 June 2013). "French Open 2013: Breaking Down Why Rafael Nadal is so Dominant on Clay". Los Angeles Times. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[NBC_Sports_Nadal_Shakes_Off-234] Sarkar, Pritha (9 June 2013). "Nadal Shakes Off Protesters, Ferrer to Win French Open". NBC Sports. Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[USA_Today_Nadal_takes_down_Djokovic-235] Robson, Douglas (7 June 2013). "Nadal takes down Djokovic, reaches French Open final". USA Today. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[Boston_Herald_Rafael_Nadal_overcomes-236] "Rafael Nadal overcomes doubts to win 8th French title". Boston Herald. Associated Press. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[Fox_Sports_Nadal_roars_back-237] Evans, Richard (6 June 2010). "Nadal roars back to King of Clay throne". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 4 July 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[TIME_Why_Djokovic's-239] Dodds, Eric (7 June 2013). "Why Djokovic's French Open Loss Is A Win for Men's Tennis". Time. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[LA_Times_Rafael_Nadal_wins_record_eighth-240] Chu, Henry (9 June 2013). "Rafael Nadal wins a record eighth French Open tennis title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[The_Hindu_The_king_and_his_court-241] "The king and his court". The Hindu. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[SB_Nation_French_Open_results_2013-242] Rothstein, Ethan (7 June 2013). "French Open results 2013: Rafael Nadal advances to final with 5-set victory over Novak Djokovic". SB Nation. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[NY_Times_Nadal_Embraces_History-243] Bishop, Greg (11 June 2012). "Nadal Embraces History With a Record Seventh Title on the Clay of Roland Garros". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[244] Jason Le Miere (22 May 2015). "French Open 2015 Draw: Can Rafael Nadal Beat Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray And Roger Federer To Win 10th Title?". IB Times. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[245] Chris Chase (3 June 2015). "The king is dead: Rafael Nadal blown out at French Open". USA Today Sports. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[246] "Le jury de l'Equipe vote Nadal" [Le jury of l'Equipe vote Nadal] (in French). L'Equipe. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[247] Matt Cronin (9 November 2012). "McEnroe: Federer the best ever". Tennis.com. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[248] Douglas Robson (30 May 2015). "How one court at Roland Garros helps Rafael Nadal dominate French Open". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 September 2015.

[Atlantic_Greatest_Mens'_Tennis_Player-250] St. John, Allen (7 June 2012). "The Greatest Men's Tennis Player of All Time Is at the French Open". The Atlantic. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[LA_Times_Where_Rafael_Nadal_Fits-251] Eckstein, Jeremy (9 June 2013). "Where Rafael Nadal Fits in the Greatest of All Time Debate". Los Angeles Times. Bleacher Report. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[HuffPost_Could_Rafa_Nadal_Be_the_Greatest-252] Goldring, Fred (6 June 2011). "Could Rafa Nadal Be the Greatest Tennis Player of All Time?". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[WP_Who's_the_best-253] Bowen, Fred (31 August 2011). "Who's the best tennis player of all time?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[Business_Insider_Rafael_Nadal_is_Challenging-254] Gaines, Cork (10 June 2013). "Rafael Nadal Is Challenging Roger Federer for the Title Of 'Greatest of All Time'". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[255] "Tennis' top 20 of all time". ESPN. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.

[256] "Tennis podcast: 'Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the greatest of all time', says John McEnroe". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.

[257] J.S. (13 September 2017). "Sorry, Roger: Rafael Nadal is not just the king of clay". The Economist. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

[258] Mahesh Bhupathi (11 September 2017). "Rafael Nadal's third US Open title win sparks 'greatest ever' Twitter debate". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[259] Charlie Eccleshare (16 June 2017). "Tennis Debate: Is Rafael Nadal not Roger Federer the greatest ever?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[260] Will Swanton (12 June 2017). "Nadal v Federer, who is the greatest of all time?". The Australian. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[261] The Economist (13 September 2017). "Sorry, Roger: Rafael Nadal is not just the king of clay". The Economist. Retrieved 13 September 2017.

[262] Himanshu Shekhar Mishra (31 January 2017). "Rafa -the other greatest". Pragativadi. Retrieved 31 January 2017.

[The_Daily_Telegraph-264] "Andre Agassi picks Rafael Nadal ahead of Roger Federer as tennis's greatest all-time player". The Daily Telegraph. London. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.

[Chattanooga_Nadal_may_now_argue-265] Wiedmer, Mark (10 June 2013). "Wiedmer: Nadal may now argue for best ever". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved 11 June 2013.

[Rafael_Nadal_is_not_only_the_King_of_Clay,_he's_the_GOAT-266] Snellings, Mark (13 June 2018). "Rafael Nadal is not only the King of Clay, he's the GOAT". ESPN. Retrieved 30 June 2018.

[267] Jon Anderson (11 September 2017). "Rafa Nadal should be considered the greatest of all time, not Roger Federer, writes Jon Anderson". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[268] Aaron Gales (22 May 2020). "Is Rafael Nadal already the greatest of all time?". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 September 2017.

[270] "Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion – Book Review". Tennis Files. 26 October 2015.

[ESPN-271] "Nadal Has Improved Virtually Every Aspect of His Game". ESPN. 3 July 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[about_bio-272] Cooper, Jeff. "Rafael Nadal – Game Profile". Retrieved 30 July 2007.

[273] "Rafael Nadal's Drop Volley". Tennis Magazine. 27 March 2008. Archived from the original on 26 October 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[274] "How To Hold A Tennis Racket". Retrieved 19 January 2015.

[275] "Essential Tennis – Rafael Nadal's Forehand Grip Revealed". Retrieved 19 January 2015.

[276] Clarey, Christopher (27 June 2006). "More and More Players Deliver Slap to Classic Forehand". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[277] Gorney, Cynthia (17 June 2009). "Ripped. (Or Torn Up?)". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 May 2010.

[278] "The Forehand of Rafael Nadal". Tennis Magazine. 15 December 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[279] White, Clive (6 July 2008). "Rafael Nadal Determined to Keep One Step Ahead of Roger Federer". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[280] Tony Kurdzuk/The Star-Ledger. "12 September 2010". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[281] Timothy Rapp (30 January 2012). "Rafael Nadal: Rafa Must Improve Serve to Beat Novak Djokovic". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

[282] Thomas Skuzinski (22 August 2011). "Rafael Nadal's Serve, and 7 Other Weak Shots Among the Top 8 Men". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

[283] Naharnet Newsdesk (13 September 2011). "Beaten Nadal Vows to Turn Tables on Djokovic". Naharnet. Retrieved 3 May 2012.

[284] Plaza, Rafael (25 January 2019). "2010 or 2019: Which Rafa Serve Is More Potent?".

[285] ATP staff (8 July 2019). "Nadal Ruthless On Serve To Reach Wimbledon Quarter-finals".

[286] Jeff (26 January 2019). "The Impact of Rafael Nadal's New Serve".

[287] ATP staff (10 January 2019). "Rafa Ready To Unveil Revamped Serve".

[288] Karthikeyan, Rishi (20 May 2020). "Carlos Moya On Rafael Nadal Improving Serve".

[289] Jeff (26 January 2019). "The Impact of Rafael Nadal's New Serve".

[290] O’Shannessy, Craig (4 June 2020). "Is serve and volley dead? Not so according to the world's leading tennis strategy expert".

[291] "No limit to what Nadal can accomplish". ESPN. 1 February 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2009.

[292] "Style of play catching up with Rafa?". ESPN. 30 August 2007. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[293] "Oz Champ Nadal Wants Changes in Tennis Schedule". Tennis Magazine. 2 February 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.

[294] "Rafael Nadal's astonishing resilience". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2019.

[295] "Report: Toni Nadal to stop traveling with Rafa at the end of '17". Tennis.com.

[296] "Francisco Roig: "In Some Ways, This Is Our Biggest Goal" – ATP World Tour – Tennis". atpworldtour.com. Retrieved 10 September 2017.

[Moya-297] "Rafael Nadal hires Carlos Moya as he bids to revive injury-hit career". CNN. 17 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.

[298] Kia Nadal versus Alien Video.

[299] "Rafael Nadal and Kia Motors double up for another five years". Hyundai Motor Group. Archived from the original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.

[300] "The Beefcake in the Backcourt". New York. 17 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[301] "Rafa Needs More Than a New Look". ESPN. 17 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[302] "Rafael Nadal to Launch New, More Traditional Image at US Open". Sports Business Daily. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[303] "Nadal's Wardrobe Malfunction". CNBC. 26 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[304] "Fashion Focus: Rafael Nadal". Tennis Served Fresh. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[305] "Nike Bold New Tennis Crew". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[306] "Nadal Long Check Shortsbhnu". Nike Store. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[307] "Rafa's Costume Change". Tennis Served Fresh. 24 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[308] "Emperor's New Clothes". Tennis Magazine. 24 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[309] "Nike Air CourtBallistec 1.3". Archived from the original on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2007.

[310] Marie-Helene Wagner (3 March 2009). "Lanvin L'Homme Sport (2009): Fronted by Rafael Nadal". Mimifroufrou.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[311] "Nadal Doesn't Use an APDC". Talk Tennis. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 26 August 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[312] "The Tennis Racket". ESPN. 2 September 2004. Retrieved 30 January 2009.

[313] "Rafa Nadal is Quely's embassador". Rafaelnadal.com. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[watchmaker-314] Corder, Rob (5 April 2010). "Rafael Nadal to wear $525,000 Richard Mille watch". Professional Jeweller.

[315] "Nadal Wears $525K Watch at French Open". mensfitness.com. Retrieved 6 July 2010.

[TS-316] "Rafael Nadal strips to his undies for Armani". Typicallyspanish.com. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[317] Cowles, Charlotte. "Rafael Nadal Replaces Cristiano Ronaldo as the New Face of Emporio Armani Underwear". New York. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[318] "Tennis Champion Rafael Nadal Joins Team PokerStars". Poker News. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[319] "Daily Bagel: Nadal accepts Ronaldo's poker game challenge". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 31 August 2018.

[320] "Nadal Has Barcelona Centre Court Named After Him".

[321] "Music video for "Gypsy" by Shakira featuring Rafael Nadal". Retrieved 6 June 2010 – via YouTube.

[322] "Shakira: I Chose Nadal for Video Because I "Identify with Him"". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[323] Source: Penny Newton (24 February 2010). "Shakira's Sexy New Video Gypsy". MTV. Retrieved 6 June 2010.

[324] "Asteroid Named After Rafael Nadal". ATP World Tour. 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.

[325] MallorcaJuly 13, Indo-Asian News Service Palma de; July 13, 2008UPDATED; Ist, 2008 10:59. "Asteroid named after tennis star Nadal". India Today. Retrieved 25 July 2019.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[sportscentre-326] "The Brand Rafael Nadal: Businesses (Part 2)". Score and Change. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

[327] "Nadal Lends Hand To Million Trees Project". ATP World Tour. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.

[328] "Rafa Nadal Foundation". Fundacionrafanadal.com. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[329] "Rafael Nadal launches foundation". Earth Times News. Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[330] "Rafa and his foundation in India". The Official Rafa Nadal Website. Archived from the original on 11 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.

[331] Janyala, Sreenivas (18 October 2010). "Rafa in India to promote tennis school". The Indian Express. Mumbai.

[332] "Rafael Nadal opens his tennis academy centre to Majorca flood victims". BBC Sport. 11 October 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2019.

[333] "Nadal joins Majorca clean-up effort". BBC News. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[334] Bohórquez, Lucía (20 December 2018). "Tennis star Rafael Nadal donates €1m to victims of Mallorca flash floods". El País. ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[335] "Rafa Nadal donates €1 million for Rebuilding Sant Llorenç des Cardassar". Tennis World USA. Retrieved 24 January 2019.

[336] Sobot, Rita (20 December 2018). "Rafael Nadal donates â'¬1million to Mallorca flood victims". mirror. Retrieved 24 January 2019.

[337] "PHOTOS/VIDEO: Olazábal & Nadal Invitational 2018 charity golf tournament – 15 Декабря 2018 – RAFA NADAL – KING OF TENNIS". rafanadal-kingoftennis.ru. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[338] "Nadal donates one million to Sant LlorenÃ§". Majorca Daily Bulletin. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[339] "Nadal donates $1.1 million to victims of flash floods in Spain's Mallorca". www.efe.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

[340] "Rafael Nadal: Charity Work & Causes". Look to the Stars. Retrieved 24 January 2019.

[341] "Soccer-Rafa Nadal becomes shareholder at troubled Real Mallorca". Reuters. 9 July 2010.

[342] "Sale of the club completed". Real Mallorca. 7 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012.

[Football-343] Hunter, Graham (9 September 2010). "Rafa to the rescue". ESPN. Retrieved 21 December 2010.

[344] "Personal woes affecting Rafa?". ESPN. 23 July 2009.

[345] "Q&A with Rafael Nadal". Sports Illustrated. 16 July 2010.

[346] Johnson, Christopher (8 October 2010). "Rafael Nadal: The 'Dragon Ball' of tennis". CNN. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.

[347] Smith, Bill (28 March 2012). "Away from tennis court, Rafael Nadal seeks a golf course". The Miami Herald.

[348] Rafa Nadal [@RafaelNadal] (11 April 2014). "Great experience playing with the world's number 1 female poker player Vanessa and very happy to have learned a lot" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[349] Tandon, Kamakshi (26 August 2011). "U.S. Open – Twenty things we learn in Rafael Nadal's autobiography". ESPN. Retrieved 31 May 2013.

[350] "Así es Mery Perelló, la mujer de Rafa Nadal" (in Spanish). ABC. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

[351] "¿Por qué Xisca Perelló se llama ahora Mery?" (in Spanish). Diario de Mallorca. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

[352] "La mujer de Nadal nunca fue Xisca, sino Mery Perelló" (in Spanish). Diario AS. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

[353] "Rafael Nadal engaged to girlfriend of 14 years Mery Perello". CNN. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.

[354] Boyle, Kelli (19 October 2019). "Tennis Star Rafael Nadal Marries Maria Francisca Perello In Spain". E! Online. Retrieved 19 October 2019.

[USO10-355] "Nadal Completes Career Grand Slam With US Open Title". ATP World Tour. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[356] Clarey, Christopher (13 September 2010). "Nadal Caps Career Grand Slam". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[357] "History – Past Tournaments – 2007: Hat-trick for Nadal and Henin". RolandGarros.com. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[358] Hodgkinson, Mark (11 September 2010). "Rafael Nadal reaches first final in New York after win over Mikhail Youzhny". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2012.

[360] Sarkar, Pritha (9 June 2012). "Djokovic faces ultimate challenge against Nadal". Reuters. Retrieved 9 June 2012.

[FO10-361] Bhagavatula, Manoj (12 June 2017). "Nadal's quest to reach La Décima". ESPN. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[362] Tandon, Kamakshi (24 December 2009). "What's your tennis IQ? – 2009 tennis holiday quiz". ESPN. Retrieved 18 June 2012. [Nadal's] Australian Open title made him the first man to simultaneously hold majors on clay, grass and hard courts.

[363] "Nadal's records – over Federer. These are records Federer SHOULD have held – by a mile". tennisplanet.me. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.

[three-peat_no_small_feat-364] Garber, Greg (13 September 2010). "Nadal's three-peat no small feat". ESPN. Retrieved 14 June 2012. [W]inning on three different surfaces in that narrow time frame is unprecedented.

[365] Cheese, Caroline (29 January 2012). "Australian Open: Djokovic outlasts Nadal in longest Grand Slam singles final ever". The Washington Post. Retrieved 28 April 2012. Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals.

[366] Garber, Greg (29 January 2012). "Djokovic now on the brink of history". ESPN. Retrieved 28 April 2012. [Nadal] became the first man in the Open era to lose three consecutive finals.

[RGrecords-367] "Record Breakers". RolandGarros.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2012.

[368] Sarkar, Pritha (8 June 2012). "Djokovic, Nadal looking to become record collectors". Reuters. Retrieved 10 June 2012.

[369] "Grand Slam History". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012.

[370] "Rafael Nadal captures eighth French Open crown". USA Today. Associated Press. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.

[371] Pells, Eddie (11 June 2012). "Rafael Nadal tops Novak Djokovic for record seventh French Open title". National Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[372] Clarey, Christopher (6 June 2005). "French Open: Nadal triumphs at first attempt". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2012.

[373] Tandon, Kamakshi (17 June 2011). "Nadal eyes another Channel Slam". ESPN. Retrieved 10 June 2012.

[clayslam-375] "Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2010 – first player to win a "Clay Slam" in a season, winning three ATP Masters 1000 titles (Monte Carlo*, Rome*, Madrid*) along with Roland Garros.

[MC10-377] Bhagavatula, Manoj (23 April 2017). "Rafael Nadal becomes first man to win same tournament 10 times". ESPN. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.

[378] "Performance Career Overall From All Countries". ATP Tour. Retrieved 12 August 2019.

[379] Macur, Juliet (8 June 2007). "Tennis: Federer vs. Nadal to meet again in French Open final". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[380] "Federer ends Nadal's clay streak". BBC Sport. 20 May 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2012.

[381] "Nadal–Federer Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

[382] "Nadal–Djokovic Head to Head". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2013.

[384] "FedEx ATP Reliability Index – Winning percentage on Clay". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 18 March 2013.

[385] "Performance Career Outdoor From All Countries". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 11 May 2018.

[386] "50 And Counting..." ATP World Tour. Retrieved 10 May 2018.

[387] Briggs, Simon (22 April 2012). "Rafael Nadal beats Novak Djokovic to win eighth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2012.

[388] "Rafael Nadal – Career Highlights". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 14 June 2012. 2006 – Tied Borg with his 16th career teenage title in Rome, most in Open Era.

Rafael Nadal
Entourage	Miguel Ángel Nadal (uncle) Toni Nadal (uncle and coach) Carlos Moyá (coach, 2017–current)
Career	Achievements Statistics World No. 1 Spain Davis Cup team Big Four Rivalry with Roger Federer Rivalry with Novak Djokovic Rivalry with Andy Murray
Notable matches	2007 Wimbledon final 2008 Wimbledon final 2009 Australian Open final 2012 Australian Open final 2012 French Open final 2017 Australian Open final
Exhibition matches	Battle of Surfaces Match for Africa
Seasons	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Australian Open	2009
French Open	2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2017 2018 2019
Wimbledon	2008 2010
US Open	2010 2013 2017 2019
World Tour Finals	finals: 2010 2013
Indian Wells	2007 2009 2013
Miami	finals: 2005 2008 2011 2014 2017
Monte Carlo	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2016 2017 2018
Rome	2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2012 2013 2018 2019
Hamburg/Madrid	2008_(H) 2010 2013 2014 2017
Montreal/Toronto	2005_(M) 2008_(T) 2013_(M) 2018_(T) 2019_(M)
Cincinnati	2013
Madrid/Shanghai	2005_(M)
Paris	finals: 2007
Olympics	2008 2016 (Doubles)
Davis Cup	2004 2008 2009 2011 2019
Rafael Nadal official website