Rafael Nadal

Acting

Born 1986-06-03 Manacor, Mallorca, Spain 51 credits Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award 2 Best International Athlete ESPY Award 1 Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year 1 Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit 1

Awards

Won 2 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Awards

Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award 2 won · 8 nominated

2014 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Won
2013 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2012 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2011 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Won
2010 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2009 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2008 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2007 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2006 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated
2005 Best Male Tennis Player ESPY Award Nominated

Best International Athlete ESPY Award 1 won · 3 nominated

2014 Best International Athlete ESPY Award Nominated
2009 Best International Athlete ESPY Award Nominated
2008 Best International Athlete ESPY Award Won
2006 Best International Athlete ESPY Award Nominated

Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsman of the Year 1 won · 2 nominated

2014 Sportsman of the Year Nominated
2011 Sportsman of the Year Won
2009 Sportsman of the Year Nominated

Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit 1 won

— Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit Won

Award data from Wikidata (CC0). Coverage may be incomplete.

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Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986, Manacor, Mallorca, Spain) is a former Spanish tennis player who emerged in the early 21st century as one of the game’s leading competitors, especially noted for his performance on clay. Nadal grew up in a sports-minded family; his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal was a professional association football (soccer) player who competed in the 2002 World Cup. Rafael began playing tennis at age four, guided by another uncle, Toni Nadal, who remained his coach on the professional tour. In his early years, Nadal (who wrote with his right hand) played left-handed tennis with both a two-handed forehand and backhand. When he was 12, however, his uncle encouraged him to adopt a more conventional left-handed style. Nadal stuck with his two-handed backhand but switched to what became his signature one-handed forehand, the stroke that was credited with lifting him into the sport’s upper echelons. Nadal retired from the sport on 19 November 2024, after the conclusion the Netherlands vs Spain match in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.