 | | Although still a young man in his twenties, Rafael Nadal is already a sporting legend. Ranked as the World's number 1 tennis player since August 2008, Nadal just keeps on breaking new records. To date, Nadal holds a total of six Grand Slam titles, together with a 2008 Olympic gold medal for singles tennis. Nadal has four consecutive French Open wins under his belt and is the second Spaniard ever to win the coveted Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships. And as a tennis player who is still in his prime, Nadal can expect to win even more glittering tennis trophies in the
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Rafael Nadal was born in Manacor, Majorca on 3 June 1986. Together with his younger sister, Maria Isabel, Rafael enjoyed playing sport from an early age, especially football and tennis. His uncle, Miguel Nadal, was a retired professional football player who encouraged Nadal to take up football. However, Nadal's other uncle, Toni Nadal, was a professional tennis player who began playing tennis with his nephew when Nadal was just three years old. Toni was quick to notice his nephew's natural talent and began coaching him in earnest. Such was Rafael's inherent ability that he won an under-12 regional tennis championship when he was only eight years old. By the time he was 12, Rafael was playing tennis and football all the time. Worried that Rafael's schoolwork was suffering, his father made him decide between football and tennis. As Nadal later said, the choice was simple, "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."
As Nadal's overall performance improved, the Spanish Tennis Federation requested that the young sportsman leave home and move to Barcelona to continue his training. However, Nadal's family did not want Nadal to leave home at such a young age and rejected the Federation's proposal. The family feared that such a move would harm not only Nadal's education, but also his family life. The family's decision was one of the first significant turning points in Nadal’s career, but as his uncle later explained, "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 house."
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Glossary
Consecutive (adj)
following one after another in order.
Trophy (n)
a large cup or similar object given as a prize to the winner of a competition.
Inherent (adj)
a basic or essential feature of something.
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