5 Things You Might Not Know About Tennis Star Rafael Nadal

One of the greatest tennis players of all time is Rafael Nadal. The Spanish tennis player has transformed the sport and created some record-breaking tennis statistics and some top rivalries in tennis.

Here are five things you might not know about Rafael Nadal.

1. Grand Slam Record: Nadal is the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles throughout his tennis career, which is the current record for men’s tennis players. Many of the Grand Slam titles for Nadal came in the French Open where he has won a record 13 times, earning him the “King of Clay” nickname. Nadal has won a major in 15 different years, including a stretch of 10 years in a row with at least one Grand Slam win from 2005 to 2014.

2. Career Grand Slam: Nadal is one of only two tennis players to win what is known as the Career Grand Slam. The Grand Slam for tennis consists of the Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open and Wimbledon. To obtain the Career Grand Slam, Nadal is also a gold medal winner at the Olympic Games with a singles title in 2008 and a doubles title in 2016. Andre Agassi is the only other Career Grand Slam winner in men’s tennis history.

3. Rivalry With Novak Djokovic: Nadal has faced many great tennis players. He has met Djokovic 59 times in his career, which is the most between any two tennis players in the Open Era. Djokovic holds a 29-30 advantage in the head-to-head series. Nadal holds the better 11-7 record in the head-to-head matchup when it comes to Grand Slam meetings between the two players. Djokovic is one of only two players to have 10 wins or more against Nadal, with Roger Federer being the other.

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4. Soccer Fan: Nadal is a die-hard fan of the Real Madrid soccer team and also the Spanish National Team. Nadal was also the former partial owner of La Liga team RCD Mallorca, his local team. The ownership stake was taken by Nadal and his uncle to help the company get through tough financial times. Nadal sold his stake later and remains loyal to Real Madrid, a team that Mallorca faced every season. Spain won the 2010 World Cup and Nadal was one of a limited handful of people who were allowed in the dressing room to celebrate with the team after the win.

5. Prize Money/Endorsements: Nadal is one of the top career earners in men’s tennis with earnings of $128.3 million at the time of writing. Nadal topped the $10 million mark in on-court earnings three times in his career, including in 2019 with $16.3 million. Nadal is also among the top earners off the court in tennis with endorsements with brands such as Nike Inc NKE; Kia, owned by Hyundai Motor Company GDR HYMTF; and Armani. Nadal began playing tennis at the age of three and turned pro at 15. Prior to officially turning pro, Nadal landed a deal with Nike when he was 13 years old and has renewed with the apparel and footwear brand since then.

Photo: pdrocha via Shutterstock