Rafael Nadal By LeAnne Disco

Early Life Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Majorca on June 3 rd, His family consisted of his father, Sebastian Nadal, his mother, Ana Maria Parera, and his younger sister, Maria Isabel Nadal. At the age of three, Nadal’s uncle Toni introduced him to the sport of tennis. Although Nadal was very interested in tennis, he also played football (soccer).

Ana Maria Parera Sebastian Nadal Rafael Nadal’s Parents

Beginnings of a Star At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship. At age twelve, Nadal won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group. As his experience with tennis progressed, Nadal’s father made his choose between his two sports: tennis and soccer. He chose tennis.

A Big Move At age fourteen, Nadal was asked by the Spanish Tennis Federation to move to Barcelona. They felt that the move would help him to continue his training in tennis. His family feared that this move would hurt his education and turned down the offer.

Starting a Career At age 16, in 2002, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy’s Singles tournaments at Wimbledon. Later that year he won all of his matches en-route to a winning campaign with Spain over the USA. By age 17, Nadal was ranked in the World’s top 50 players.

A WARDS Nadal has won: -6 Grand Slam Singles Titles -15 ATP Masters Series Tournaments (He won his first ATP in April 2002 at age 15.) -At age eighteen, Nadal became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation. -In 2004 and 2009, Nadal was part of the Spain Davis Cup Team that won finals.

A WARDS IN was a big year for Nadal: - He won two Challenger titles - He had his Wimbledon debut where he became the youngest man to reach the third round since Nadal also won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award.

Interesting Facts In the sport of tennis, most people play with their right hands but Nadal plays with his left even though he is right handed. Although it is not known why, Rafael is often booed throughout and even after his matches. Nadal’s nickname is the “King of Clay”.

Sources 1)http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafeal_Nadal 2) 3) ?player_name=Rafael%20Nadal 4) facts.htm