How old is rafa

By May however, Rafa had picked up a stress fracture in his left ankle, and was forced to miss most of the clay court season, including the French Open and then Wimbledon. On his return in July, he struggled to regain his form and though he helped Spain win the Davis Cup, won hardly any other matches on the tour the rest of the year, which he finished ranked world No.

In early Rafa reached the fourth round at the Australian Open, won back-to-back clay court titles at Costa Do Sauipe and Acapulco and then reached the final at the Miami Masters where he lost in five sets to Federer. Rafa then won back-to-back titles at Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, and entered the top In June, having just turned 19, Rafa began his reign as the King of Clay by winning the first of four consecutive French Open titles and moved to world No.

Despite losing in the second round of Wimbledon, in July Rafa reached world No. He again reached the Wimbledon final, losing there in the fifth set, once again to Federer; a result which left him devastated, as he felt he could have won.

Then in the Wimbledon final, age 22, Nadal finally overcame Federer, in the fifth set, after four hours and forty-seven minutes, the longest final in the year history of the event, to become the first Spaniard since Manuel Santana in to win the title. I had always pushed him to set his sights high and higher, but I did not honestly know he could climb this high.

When he won, it was the only time I had ever cried on a tennis court. In February Nadal consolidated his position as world No. Rafa, suffering from tendinitis in both knees, then lost for the first time ever at the French Open to Robin Soderling and was unable to defend his Wimbledon title. He then won his fifth French Open title, without losing a set, and regained his world No. Two months later he beat Novak Djokovic in the final to win his first U.

Open and in doing so became only the seventh man in tennis history—the youngest in the Open era—to achieve a career Grand Slam. He then lost in the finals of both Wimbledon and the U. Open to Djokovic, but ended the year by guiding Spain to victory against Argentina in the final of the Davis Cup. After suffering a first-round loss at the Australian Open in January, he rebounded to win titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

However, Nadal's attempts to play through a nagging wrist injury took its toll, and he was forced to pull out of his favorite tournament, the French Open, after two rounds. In , Nadal faced off against Roger Federer in the finals at the Australian Open but was ultimately defeated in five sets.

I am happy for you. Rafael Nadal bites the championship trophy during the trophy ceremony after the men's singles finals match of the US Open on September He defeated Kevin Anderson in the third set with a score of , , Nadal's victory over Kevin Anderson of South Africa was his 16th Grand Slam title, returning him to the number one ranking.

After his U. Open win, Nadal spoke of the ups and downs of his comeback. Injuries struck again at the beginning of , forcing Nadal to retire from his quarterfinal match vs. Marin Cilic at the Australian Open, but he returned to top form by the start of the clay-court season, claiming his th career win on the surface en route to his 11th career title at the Barcelona Open in April. The French Open brought more of the same from its most decorated player, with Nadal making mincemeat of his competition.

The final against No. Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the following two Grand Slams, but was forced from the latter with a knee problem and then underwent ankle surgery in November. He recovered to make a run to the Australian Open final and then overcame more nagging injuries to reestablish his clay-court dominance that spring, culminating with a four-set win over Thiem for his 12th French Open crown. At Wimbledon that summer, fans were treated to another Nadal-Federer classic, with the Swiss great winning their semifinal matchup in four sets.

But there was no stopping Nadal in New York two months later, as he held off a stubborn Daniil Medvedev in five sets to claim his fourth U. Open and 19th career Grand Slam title. Nadal won his 13th French Open title in by defeating Djokovic, leaving him tied with Federer for the men's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles.

Nadal was defeated in five sets in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open by Stefanos Tsitsipas, ending his bid for a record 21st Grand Slam men's single championship. Nadal has been dating girlfriend Xisca Perello since and revealed that they became engaged in January She serves on the RafaNadal Foundation as a project director. We strive for accuracy and fairness.

If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. In her professional tennis career, Steffi Graf spent weeks as the No. She retired from tennis in American professional tennis player Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and several Olympic gold medals. Venus Williams rose from a tough childhood in Compton, Los Angeles, to become a champion women's tennis player and four-time Olympic gold medalist.

Open, and the first African American man to be ranked No. Scottish tennis star Andy Murray triumphed at Wimbledon in to become the first British male in 77 years to win the tournament. Maria Sharapova is a former pro tennis player who became the first Russian woman to win Wimbledon and earned a silver medal at the London Olympics.

Serbian professional tennis player Novak Djokovic won his first of multiple Grand Slam championships in and took over the world's No. Andre Agassi is a retired professional tennis player best known for his strong, smart playing style, which helped him win numerous championships throughout the s.

Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam titles, including a record 13 French Open singles titles, and is one of only two men to win all four majors and Olympic gold. Olivia Rodrigo —. Megan Thee Stallion —. Bowen Yang —. See More.