Michael Coy
ON June 3, 1986, a boy named Rafael Nadal Parera was born in the small Mallorcan town of Manacor. 39 years later, he still lives there.
He’s possibly the greatest tennis player who has ever existed.
With 209 weeks as the world’s number one, and having won 22 of the ‘big four’ titles (including 14 French Open wins – something no-one else has ever done), as well as 36 Masters titles and two Olympic gold medals, Rafael Nadal can justifiably claim to be ‘special’.
In a very important sense, the globetrotter has never left Manacor.
Rafa’s first major title came his way in 2005 when he was only 19, and by 2008 he had become the world’s number one tennis player.
That was the year he beat Federer at Wimbledon, to claim his first championship on grass. In 2010 he achieved the Grand Slam – winning the Australian, French and American Opens, as well as Wimbledon – all in the same season.
He was also, in that year, the first man ever to win major titles on three different surfaces in the space of a single year.
Between 2005 and 2014, and then again between 2017 and 2020, he won majors in each consecutive season. On top of this, he was an Olympic Gold Medallist at the Beijing Games (2008).
What separates Rafa from all the other stars is his modesty and his love for his home town. Modesty – in 2022, “Time” Magazine named him one of the planet’s 100 most influential people, but if you ever watch his behaviour at Davis Cup matches – a team event – you will see him on the side lines, when not playing, cheering-on each of his teammates.
How many ‘stars’ do that?
One writer put it this way: “He never brags about his record, he refuses to denigrate his rivals and he lingers after matches and practices to sign autographs for fans.”
And as for Manacor, Rafa shrugs off all questions about his wealth – “My brother deals with my money,” he says.
And that’s the point.
Nadal could live in New York, Paris or London in luxury apartments for the rest of his life, but he opts to stay in Manacor.
His father Sebastián is a local businessman and he has an uncle who played soccer for Spain. Another uncle, Toni, is a tennis coach, and trained Rafa when he was a child. (Toni is now the tennis director of the Nadal Academy.)
It’s not uncommon to see them all in the family restaurant.
This is why he’s unlike any other Spanish hero. If you’re reading this, you already know how Spanish people are. They place family above all else.
And whereas Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz mastered English and relocated to Los Angeles, Rafa Nadal has stayed loyal to his extended family in Manacor.
Rafa has made an attempt at English – you can’t be prominent in your field without having to give interviews to American TV stations – but Rafa’s ‘street’ English is full of grammatical errors.
It’s as if he’s saying: “I have to do this, but my heart’s not in it. I’m Spanish.”
If anyone ever doubted his commitment to Manacor, they need only visit his tennis academy.
In November 2007, he launched the ‘Fundación Rafa Nadal’, with a view to building a Tennis Centre.
As a child, Rafa himself had had to combine his development as a sportsman with conventional education. He says that, given his crowded timetable, both suffered.
The Academy reflects his determination to ensure a balanced upbringing for future generations of talented Spanish youngsters.
Nadal has poured millions of his personal money into the project, and since 2016 the Manacor complex has been offering a blend of sport and academic education.
So successful has it been that branches have now sprung up all over the world.
He may be in the twilight of his playing career, but with his reputation pristine, and young Carlos Alcaráz stepping into his shoes, Rafa has nothing to regret or to worry about.
So join us in wishing Happy Birthday to a special – because he’s so very typical – Spanish hero!
