• Rafael Nadal

  Residence:           Manacor, Balearic Islands, country: Spain
  Born:     3 June 1986 (age 29)
  Height: 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
  Turned pro:        2001
  Plays:    Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
  Coach:  Toni Nadal (1990–)
  ZODIAC SIGN: Gemini

Rafael Nadal Pereira is a Spanish professional tennis player who has been placed among the world's Top 5 since 2003.

         Rafael Nadal (nick name Rafa) was born in Manacor, Balearic Islands, Spain, to Sebastian Nadal, a businessman who owns an insurance company, a glass and window firm, Vidres Mallorca, and manages his own restaurant, Sa Punta. His mom is Ana María Parera, a housewife. He has a younger sister named Maria Isabel. His uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, is a retired professional footballer, who played for RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona, and the Spanish national team. Nadal supports football clubs Real Madrid and RCD Mallorca. Spotting that Nadal had a natural talent for tennis, another uncle, Toni Nadal, a former professional tennis player, familiarized him to tennis when he was at the age of three.

          At age eight, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship at a time when he was also a promising football player. This made Toni Nadal strengthen training, and at that time he encouraged Nadal to play left-handed for a natural advantage on the tennis court, as he observed Nadal played forehand shots with two hands. This may be due to the fact he is ambidextrous, playing tennis with his left hand, and writing with his right.

When Nadal was 12, he won the Spanish and European tennis titles in his age group and was playing tennis and football all the time. Nadal's father made him choose between football and tennis so that his school work would not worsen entirely. Nadal said: "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."

When he was 14, the Spanish tennis federation wished that he leave Mallorca and move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. Nadal's family turned down this request, partly because they dreaded it would hurt his education, but also because Toni 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. In May 2001, he beaten former Grand Slam tournament champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match.

Nadal turned professional at the age of 15, and participated in two events on the ITF junior circuit. In 2002, at the age of 16, Nadal reached the semifinals of the Boy's Singles tournament at Wimbledon, in his first ITF junior event.

By the age of 17, he beat Roger Federer the first time they played and became the youngest man to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Boris Becker. At 18, he helped pace Spain over the US in the junior Davis Cup in his second, and final, appearance on the ITF junior circuit. At 19, Nadal won the French Open the first time he played it, a feat not accomplished in Paris for more than 20 years. He eventually won it the first four times he played at Roland Garros. In 2003, he had won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. Early in his career, Nadal became known for his habit of biting the trophies he won.

Awards and achievements:

Nadal is only the second male player to achieve the Career Golden Slam and the first to win seven French Open titles. In 2003, he had won the ATP Newcomer of the Year Award. He won the Roland Garros for four consecutive years, from 2005 to 2008, and went on to win Wimbledon 2008 against tennis star Roger Federer. In 2009, Nadal won the Australian Open,

Relationship status:

Rafa and Xisca Perello Been together for over eight years. And nadal and his girlfriend got engaged in 2005. Now nadal wants kids as once stated, "I am quite a family person, my education has been towards family. You never know what will happen in the future, but I understand that I will form a family, have kids, I do not know how much. I love children, but one does not decide unilaterally, it takes two. I would like to have more children, but I cannot say whether two, three or four."