Rafael Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, an all-time record shared with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, and 36 Masters 1000 men’s singles titles, an all-time record shared with Novak Djokovic. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament.
From childhood through most of his professional career, Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni. He was one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in the world at age 19 and winning 16 titles, including his first French Open and six Masters events. Nadal became No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after his first major victory off clay against the longtime top-ranked Federer, his main rival through 2010, in a historic Wimbledon final. He also won an Olympic gold medal in singles that year in Beijing, and then completed the career Grand Slam at the 2010 US Open in the only year where he won three majors. With his Olympic gold medal, he is also one of only two male players to complete the career Golden Slam.
Nadal is the only left-handed member of the Big Three. One of his main strengths is his forehand, which he routinely hits with extremely heavy topspin at difficult angles to return. He is one of the best at breaking serve, regularly appearing among the tour leaders in percentage of return games, return points, and break points won. Nadal has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award four times, and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. Representing Spain, he has an Olympic gold medal in both singles and doubles. He has also led the Spain Davis Cup team to five titles while playing alongside fellow top 10 players including David Ferrer and his future coach Carlos Moyá. Outside of competing, Nadal opened a tennis academy in his hometown of Mallorca, and is also an active philanthropist.
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