Nadal's Journey

Avi Taneja

June 17, 2022

Nadal is known for his massive tennis prowess and ability. Holding twenty-two grand slam titles, he, in most people’s eyes, is the best tennis player to walk the Earth. The real question is how did he get here? How did Rafael Nadal become who he is today? To understand such a story, we must go back to Nadal’s early years. He grew up in a sport-driven family, with his uncle Miguel Nadal being a professional association soccer player, who competed in the 2002 world cup. At the age of four, Nadal began playing tennis. His uncle, Toni Nadal, was his coach, and remained his coach even throughout his professional tour. Nadal originally had a two-handed forehand and backhand, but his uncle coaxed him into changing his forehand to a one-hand forehand. This shot would later become his signature shot, and allow him to advance much further than he ever thought.

Nadal had appeared professional in 2001, only appearing in one grand slam. This did not stop the young prodigy to instead reach the semifinals of Wimbledon the next year, surprising the vast majority of onlookers. Every year only got better for Nadal, as he advanced into the top 50 in 2003, showing everyone he was a force not to be reckoned with. His young journey, does not stop there however because in 2004 he beat the world number 2 to win the Davis Cup final in a four set game, winning the Davis Cup for his country Spain. He then became the youngest person to play, and to win for their country at 18 ½ years. Nadal knew however this was only the start. He continually played better and better, his main goal being to improve. From there on, Nadal and Roger Federer (another great tennis player) developed a rivalry so large everyone knew about it. He kept on winning grand slams left and right, until a huge unfortunate event happened. Nadal had gotten injured, with Muller-Weiss syndrome, forcing him to throw away his 2021 chances. According to the article, What is Muller-Weiss Syndrome?, Muller-Weiss Syndrome is “a form of “adult-onset spontaneous osteonecrosis of navicular bone causing mid and hindfoot pain and deformity.” He genuinely thought his whole career had gone down the drain, but Nadal was not ready to give up yet. He pushed and pushed, and eventually after endless months of recovery felt ready to make his debut. Nadal however still felt scared, entering a tournament after a long time. Nadal however did not let that stop hime, and he won the French Open for the fourteenth time sealing his twenty-second grand slam.