The 21st century
Spain · born Manacor, Mallorca, 1986 · left-handed · twice Wimbledon champion
All playersBack to the rankings
2
Wimbledon singles titles, 2008 and 2010
5
Wimbledon finals, 2006 to 2011
4h 48m
The 2008 final against Federer
4
Grass titles: Wimbledon twice, Queen's, Stuttgart
76-20
Career match record on grass
Born in Manacor, Mallorca, on 3 June 1986, Nadal was coached from boyhood by his uncle Toni, who had him play left-handed. He won 22 major singles titles, Olympic singles gold at Beijing in 2008 and doubles gold at Rio in 2016. He spent 209 weeks as world No. 1 and finished five years at the top of the rankings. His grass record is 76 wins and 20 defeats, with four titles from 25 events, and 58-12 at Wimbledon across 15 appearances. He played his last match for Spain at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals and retired on 19 November 2024. He opened a tennis academy in Mallorca and set up a foundation in his name.
| Wimbledon singles | Champion 2008, 2010; runner-up 2006, 2007, 2011; 58-12 in 15 appearances |
|---|---|
| Finals won | 2008: beat Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (8), 9-7 in 4 hours 48 minutes. 2010: beat Tomáš Berdych 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 |
| Finals lost | 2006: to Federer 0-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 3-6. 2007: to Federer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 2-6. 2011: to Novak Djokovic 4-6, 1-6, 6-1, 3-6 |
| Queen's Club | Champion 2008, his first grass title, beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (6), 7-5 in his first event after Roland-Garros |
| Other grass | Stuttgart 2015, beat Viktor Troicki 7-6 (3), 6-3. Lost in the second round of Wimbledon 2012 to Lukáš Rosol in five sets |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Men's singles | |
| 2010 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 2008 | Men's singles | |
| Stuttgart | ||
| 2015 | Men's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I'm very happy, but at the same time sorry for him because he deserved to win the match, too."
The person behind the player.
Manacor · boyhood
He plays left-handed because his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, watched the boy's two-handed forehand and had him change sides. The switch was hard work at first. After winning the 2008 Wimbledon final he climbed through the stands to reach his family and Toni.
Source: WikipediaQueen's Club 2008
He went from Roland-Garros straight to Queen's, his first tournament since Paris. Djokovic led 3-0 in the first set of the final and had a game point for 4-0; Nadal saved a set point at 6-5 and took the tiebreak 8-6 after 74 minutes. It was his first grass title and the first by a Spanish man since Andrés Gimeno in 1972.
Source: Tennis MajorsWimbledon 2008 · Final
Rain delayed the start by about 35 minutes and stopped play twice more, once for 80 minutes. When the second break ended, darkness was setting in. The last point came at 21:15, with flashbulbs lighting the two players. At 4 hours 48 minutes it was the longest Wimbledon singles final to that date.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 2008 · After the final
Federer netted a forehand on the fourth championship point and Nadal fell flat on the grass, just below Manolo Santana in the front row of the Royal Box. He climbed up through Centre Court to his family and Toni, then took a Spanish flag to greet Prince Felipe. To Federer he said only: "Good tournament. Sorry."
Source: HeraldNetEvery match
He sets two bottles diagonally, one chilled and one at room temperature, sips from each in turn and turns them so the labels face the same way. He crosses the lines with his right foot first and never steps on one between points. Before a match he takes an ice-cold shower: "Under the cold shower, I enter a new space in which I feel my strength and resilience grow."
Source: blue NewsEvery serve
Before each serve he pulls at his shorts, taps his left shoulder and then his right, and tucks his hair back before bouncing the ball. At the change of ends he lets his opponent cross the net first. "It's a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head," he has said.
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