Rafael Nadal (Rafael Nadal Parera, born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player who won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open championships. He spent 209 weeks as world No. 1, won two Olympic gold medals and led Spain to five Davis Cup titles. Nadal retired after the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, and in 2025 King Felipe VI created him Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca. This biography follows his life and career up to November 2026.
Rafael Nadal at a Glance
| Full name | Rafael Nadal Parera |
| Born | 3 June 1986, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain |
| Age | 40 (as of November 2026) |
| Profession | Former professional tennis player |
| Grand Slam singles titles | 22, including 14 at the French Open |
| ATP singles titles | 92, with 36 Masters titles |
| Weeks at world No. 1 | 209, with five year-end No. 1 finishes |
| Olympics | Singles gold (2008) and doubles gold (2016) |
| Retirement | After the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga, November 2024 |
| Title | 1st Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca (2025) |
Early Life in Manacor
Nadal was born in Manacor on the Spanish island of Mallorca to Ana María Parera Femenías and Sebastián Nadal Homar. His father is a businessman and his mother raised him and his younger sister, María Isabel. One of his uncles, Miguel Ángel Nadal, played football for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and Spain, and another uncle, Toni Nadal, introduced him to tennis when he was three years old.
Nadal began playing at the Manacor Tennis Club, where Toni worked as a coach, and he took the sport more seriously from the age of five. Football was his first passion, and he played it in the streets with friends. After he won an under-12 regional title at eight, Toni trained him more intensively. Toni also encouraged him to play left-handed, a change that helped to give him one of the most feared forehands in the game.
Teenage Breakthrough
Nadal won the Spanish junior championships in 1997 and 1998. In late 2004, aged 18, he beat Andy Roddick on clay in the Davis Cup final to help Spain beat the United States, and he became the youngest player to win a singles match in a Davis Cup final. In 2005 he won 11 titles, breaking the teenage record of nine set by Mats Wilander in 1983, and he won his first Grand Slam at the 2005 French Open.
The Big Three Era
For nearly two decades Nadal was a central figure in men's tennis alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, a group known as the Big Three. In 2008 he beat Federer in a historic Wimbledon final, which was his first major title off clay, and he followed it with Olympic singles gold at the Beijing Games. By beating Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final he completed the career Grand Slam at the age of 24, the youngest man in the Open Era to do so at the time.
Nadal won major singles titles in ten consecutive years from 2005 to 2014, and again in a four-year span from 2017 to 2020. At the 2022 Australian Open he moved past his joint record with Djokovic and Federer to win a 21st major, and he added a 22nd at the French Open that year. He also won the 2016 Olympic doubles gold in Rio and 11 doubles titles overall. His 81 consecutive wins on clay remain the longest single-surface winning streak in the Open Era.
Playing Style and Records
Nadal's game was built on a left-handed forehand delivered with heavy topspin, and he regularly ranked among the tour leaders in return games, return points and break points won. His style suited clay, where 63 of his 92 singles titles came. He won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award five times and was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021.
Injuries and Retirement
Injuries interrupted many seasons, and Nadal has said in the Netflix documentary Rafa that he sought psychiatric support and received medication during his below-expectation year of 2015. On 10 October 2024 he said he would retire after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Málaga. Botic van de Zandschulp beat him in the quarter-final as Spain lost to the Netherlands, and a tribute with video messages followed. The Rafa docuseries premiered on Netflix in May 2026 and discusses his pain, chronic injuries and mental strength.
Foundation and Academy
In 2007 Nadal launched the Fundación Rafa Nadal to help disadvantaged children and teenagers through sport, and his wife, María Perelló, is the director. He opened his tennis academy centre to victims of the October 2018 Mallorca flood, and the foundation later partnered with UNESCO on a sport-based programme. He received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for 2011.
Legacy
Nadal was named one of Time's 100 most influential people in 2009 and 2022. In 2025 the king of Spain made him a marquess, a rare honour for an athlete. His 14 French Open titles are widely seen as one of the most dominant records at a single event in the sport, and his sportsmanship and work ethic are remembered as much as his results.
Conclusion
Nadal left tennis in November 2024 with 22 major titles, 92 tour titles and a place among the greatest players of all time. In retirement he continues to work through his foundation and academy and to appear at tennis events as one of the sport's best-known figures.
