Greatness Doesn’t Have a Minimum Age

"He has never broken a racket in anger. It would be showing a lack of respect to people who actually have to buy the equipment to play the sport."

– Uncle Toni Nadal on nephew, Rafael

When the clock struck midnight on June 3, 1986 in Manacor, Majorca, Spain, the world was not yet aware that one of the best tennis players of all time was preparing to make his way into the world. Later that day, Sebastian Nadal and Ana Maria Parera would welcome their first child, Rafael Nadal, into their family.

A few short years later, the Nadal family would welcome their second child, Maria Isabel, into the world. Rafael would become a big brother. The Nadal family was close-knit, and would remain strong throughout Rafael’s soon-to-be discovered fame and fortune. Due to the creation of a strong family base, the Nadals still live together in their family home located in Manacor, Spain.

One would assume that Rafael would follow his father, Sebastian, into the business world. Considering that Sebastian Nadal owns Vidres Mallorca, which is a glass and window company, and also manages his own restaurant, Sa Punta, the son following the father would come naturally, and Rafael would have all the knowledge and opportunity that his father had. It would be quite simple for Rafael to work alongside his father, Sebastian, and one day take over one or both of his father’s businesses; however, fate and Rafael had other plans for this future tennis Hall of Famer.

Sports ran in the Nadal family and didn’t steer far from Rafael. His uncle played professional soccer and another uncle was a professional tennis player. He definitely had options within the sporting world.

His Uncle Miguel Angel Nadal was a retired soccer player who had played for RCD Mallorca, the Spanish National Team, and FC Barcelona, which led Rafael to supporting soccer clubs such as Real Madrid and his Uncle’s old team, RCD Mallorca. Rafael’s love of soccer has never left him, and he played soccer extensively as a child and showed much skill with the game. Indeed, his Uncle Miguel’s talents landed directly upon young Rafael, and it showed on the soccer field. From the onset, it was apparent that he was faster, more agile, and more athletically gifted than the other children on the field, and his never-ending energy made him a great threat to the other team later in the match. It seemed that Rafael would become one of the best soccer players in the world.

However, Rafael’s Uncle Toni Nadal was also a sports star in his own right and wanted to show Rafael another sport to choose. A former professional tennis player, his Uncle Toni had recognized that Rafael showed a natural gift for the sport at a very early age. When Uncle Toni took his nephew, Rafael, to his first tennis court at the tender age of three, Rafael took the tennis racket and knew almost instinctively how to hold it, how to swing it, and what to do with it. From that point forward, Uncle Toni took the young Rafael under his wing and began showing him how to play the game that he loved.

At just eight years old, Rafael entered an Under-12 Regional Tournament. He would go on to win that tournament, and it would be the first glimpse of what Rafael could accomplish on the court. After that tournament, his Uncle Toni knew that Rafael had the potential to be someone special within the tennis world. He would soon intensify Rafael’s tennis lessons and persuade him to switch his style to that of a left-hander. The change would give Rafael an advantage against his opponents and would prevent him from making two-handed forehand swings.

When Rafael turned twelve years old, he found himself the winner of both the Spanish and European tennis titles within his age group. He played soccer and tennis so much that his schoolwork suffered.

Having two superstar uncles in two separate sports and a father that was a very successful businessman who thought highly of education, Rafael had many options to choose from at a very young age; however, Rafael was a typical child and just wanted to play. He wanted to play any sport. Coupled with his unstoppable energy, Rafael decided to play both tennis and soccer. Why not? He had the uncles to show him all they knew, he had the natural athletic ability to be great in either sport, and was a child with a very supportive family.

For these reasons, Rafael would play both sports simultaneously until his father would make him chose just one. Sebastian did not want his son’s education to suffer further because of the hectic requirements needed to keep up with two sports. Around the age of twelve, Rafael had to decide on which sport to pursue. This choice was a difficult one for the young Rafael to make. He loved tennis and soccer and wished to play them both; however, he understood his father’s concerns about his education and knew he had to make a choice. At this point, he decided to stick with tennis and become only a fan of the soccer game—a decision that would prove to be a very solid choice for him.

When he turned fourteen years old, the Spanish Tennis Federation made a request to the Nadal family. They suggested that Rafael move to Barcelona in order to continue his training. If Rafael and his family agreed, he would be provided with more financial assistance toward his tennis career. The family rejected this idea. The decision was based primarily upon his family’s fear that Rafael’s education would be held back due to moving to Barcelona. Secondly, Uncle Toni mentioned to the family that he refused to believe that you can’t become a great champion by moving to another place. He believed that you could become great without ever leaving your home.

Had they agreed to it, the move would have meant that the family would receive financial help for Rafael’s tennis lessons; however, the offer didn’t get them to move away from home. Sebastian decided to pay for all of his son’s tennis lessons and equipment himself. His family immensely supported this decision and they made adjustments in their lifestyles as needed. Rafael would be Manacor’s home-grown champion, and had all the support he would ever need.

In May of 2001, he would find himself at a clay court exhibition match against the former Grand Slam Champion, Pat Cash. Pat Cash had originally been scheduled to play Boris Becker. The match had to be rearranged due to a scheduling conflict with Boris Becker, and Pat Cash was not happy about facing the young tennis phenomenon. Rafael went on to win the match by a narrow margin, showing the tennis world that he was the real deal.

Later that same year, when Rafael turned fifteen, he would become a professional tennis player. At the 2001 Seville Challenger, Rafael’s first match as a professional tennis player, he would be victorious. Having a taste of success on the professional level gave him the momentum to go on and defeat Ramon Delgado in the opening round at a Masters-Level match in Manacor. Rafael would be the ninth player to win a match before his sixteenth birthday during the Open Era and give him a world ranking of 762.

That year saw Rafael play in nine events on the Futures Circuit. Within those nine events, he won six tournaments. All of them were held in Spain. He would go on to reach the semifinals of a Challengers event in Barcelona while also reaching the semi-finals on a Junior Tournament held at Wimbledon. That year, he was also dubbed El Niño, or child. If you found your name next to the El Niño, you knew you would have your hands full throughout the match.

It didn’t take long before word spread about Rafael’s “never-say-die” playing style. The longer a player kept Rafael in a match, the harder he was to defeat. Even though every swing from his tennis racket would have a tremendous amount of energy behind it, Rafael never seemed to tire out or show signs of fatigue. This proved to be a daunting task to any player that faced him. His weakness on the court was so minimal that opposing players found it difficult to use those flaws to gain an advantage. If you didn’t quickly put the game out of reach of Rafael, he would eventually come back to defeat you.

This playing style, along with the signature biting of the trophy and his own unique tennis apparel, made him a quick favorite amongst tennis fans. It was clear from the beginning that the tennis world was quickly becoming Rafael’s world, and he was just getting started.