ourblog

Rafa Nadal, who has recently seized No. 1 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Ranking, is not just an outstanding tennis player (he has won five Gran Slam singles titles, the 2004 Davis Cup, and the gold medal in 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing). His whole life set an example for the younger generation of the significance of virtues such as tenacity, perseverance, comradeship, sportsmanship, spirit of self-improvement, etc. Because of all these achievements, both in the professional and in the personal field, the jury for the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports has recently decided to bestow the 2008 Award on him.

Born in Manacor (Mallorca) in 1986, Nadal, whose family is highly involved in the sport’s world (his uncle Miguel Angel is a former professional football player, and his other uncle, Toni, is Rafa’s coach, who taught him to play left-handed even though he is naturally right-handed), started practicing tennis at the age of five. By the time he was twelve he had won the Spanish and the European tennis titles in his age group. He was also the striker of the local football team. But then his father, Sebastian, forced him to choose between his two main passions, tennis and football, to prevent his marks from getting worse. Obviously Rafa chose tennis, although he still loves football (he is a passionate supporter of Real Madrid).

In the year 2001, when he was only 15 years old, he became a professional tennis player. Only a year later, he was ranked in the world’s top 50 players. Since then his career has been full of records and success. This year he has reached the top peak of his career: he has won both the French Open (the fourth time in a row) and Wimbledon, beating the former No. 1 Roger Federer, with whom Rafa has had a long rivalry.

In spite of his worldwide fame as a tennis player, his life is not only focused on playing tennis. Nadal tries to lead a normal life. He has been going out with Xisca Perelló, a childhood friend, for three years now. He had also recently established a charitable foundation bearing his name, which focuses on social work among disadvantaged groups and cooperation for development.

 Este artículo ha sido visitado  277  veces