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Rafa’s story
I loved listening to this book which was mostly narrated by Rafa himself. It is delightful, inspiring, and full of English phrases pronounced slightly wrong.
I have an affinity for tennis biographies. Andre Agassi’s Open is the gold standard in terms of bringing you inside his childhood and it’s replete with stunning details. Pete Sampras’s A Champion’s Mind: Lessons from a Life in Tennis is a terrific read but it’s written with a much less granular style. There are so many other good ones too and I’m looking forward to a great Federer and Djokovic biography in the future.
Key facts:
Rafa is terribly shy and one of the most intimidating opponents to play. He values family above all else. He’s as competitive and hard working as you probably have guessed.
Rafael “Rafa” Nadal Parera was born June 3, 1986. He has been ranked No. 1 in the ATP rankings for 209 weeks, and has finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, tied for the most in history with Roger Federer. His 13 French Open titles in particular are a record at any tournament. Nadal’s dominance on clay is also highlighted by 60 of his 86 ATP singles titles coming on this surface, including 25 of his 35 ATP Masters 1000 titles, and his 81 consecutive wins on clay is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era.
Rafa talks about the tough times in his life quite openly, including his Parents’ split and his brief spat with his coach Toni and what the factors were behind it, and being a closely-knit family, how it affected him (plus his game) and his sister.
Coaching:
From childhood through most of his professional career, Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni. He was one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in the world at age 19 and winning 16 titles, including his first French Open and six Masters events. Nadal became No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after his first major victory off clay against the longtime top-ranked Federer, his only main rival through 2010, in a historic Wimbledon final. He also won an Olympic gold medal in singles that year in Beijing, and then completed the career Grand Slam at the 2010 US Open in the only year where he won three majors. With his Olympic gold medal, he is also one of only two male players to complete the career Golden Slam.
Rafa’s lifetime coach is Toni Nadal. His approach can be summarized by this quote: “Cruel to be kind, as Toni saw it, he would play games with Rafa in which the winner was the first to twenty points. He would allow the excited child to get to nineteen, and then he’d raise his game, beating him to the post, ruining his nephew’s day just as he was beginning to savor the thrill of an unlikely little victory. The blows to morale and the relentlessly harsh discipline to which he submitted Rafa all had a grand strategic purpose: teaching him to endure.”
Rafa quotes:
“You are the sum total of all of the games you have played.”
“The key to the game is in your mind. You have to cage yourself in protective armor, turn yourself into a bloodless warrior. It’s a kind of self-hypnosis, a game you play, with deadly seriousness, to disguise your own weaknesses from yourself, as well as from your rival.”
“The difference in champions is trying your hardest when you don’t want to.”
Rafa on Uncle Toni monetarily:
“One thing would not have happened without the other. Toni has never received any money from me or from anyone in the family for the lifelong attention he’s dedicated to me, but he’s been able to do it because he owns half of my father’s business, and takes half the profits, without doing any of the work. It’s been a fair exchange because I would never have had anything like the same hours of coaching from Toni if my father had not worked with such purpose all his life”
https://www.rafanadalacademy.com/ Want to train at Rafa’s academy in Spain? It starts at one week for $2,500 including room & board (please ask me if you need a friend to go with you).
Overall, Rafa is a compelling, honest and insightful read. So, as Rafa would say, Vamos! (Come on!) and get a copy of it!
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