-Full name is Rafael Nadal Parera.
-Father, Sebastian, is a business partner with two brothers of a restaurant, Sa Punta, and owner of a glass and windows company.
-Mother, Ana Maria, is a housewife; has one younger sister Maria Isabel.
-By the age of 16, Nadal was ranked in the world’s top 50 players.
-When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation requested that he leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis progression and training. Nadal’s family turned down this request, partly because they feared it would hurt his education, but also because Toni Nadal said that “I don’t want to believe that you have to go to America, or other places to be a good athlete. You can do it from your home.” The decision to stay home meant that Nadal received less financial support from the federation; instead Nadal’s father covered the costs.
-At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.
-During 2004, Nadal played his first match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets.
-Federer and Nadal are the only men in the open era who have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning 5 of the 7 finals.
-Won most titles as a teenager: 16 tied with Björn Borg.
-Only the third teenager in history (since 1973) to reach world no. 2.
-Longest single-surface winning streak (clay): 81 matches.
