Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal
Rafael "Rafa" Nadal Parerais a Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked world No. 4. He is widely regarded as the greatest clay-court player in history, and owing to his dominance and success on the surface, he has been titled "The King of Clay". His evolution into an all-court threat has established him as one of the greatest players in tennis history, with some considering Nadal to be the greatest player of all time...
NationalitySpanish
ProfessionTennis Player
Date of Birth3 June 1986
CityManacor, Spain
CountrySpain
My goal is to improve my game, stay healthy and be competitive. If I have that, I know I can be able to win tournaments, which in the end is what it counts.
I appreciate a lot in this life; the things you cannot buy. Life is only once. I am happy being here and all the things that are a risk I normally avoid.
You have to accept both losing and winning well. I've stayed calm when I'm winning and I've stayed calm when I've lost.
Even if I have already peaked, I have to believe I can improve. I wake up every morning, and go to practice, with the illusion that I'm going to get better that day.
I learned during all my career to enjoy suffering.
I always had the theory that the most important thing is be happy, enjoy what are you doing, and be fresh mentally.
I always wanted to be honest with myself and to those who have had faith in me.
I would like to believe there is a God, but I think it is better to say I'm not sure there is a God and live your life with kindness and respect for people than to say I know there is a God and then do bad things,
In your career you have a lot of good moments and bad ones. The important thing is to have enough motivation to keep working all the days with humility and trying to be a better player than before. I am going to try to continue doing this.
I always work with a goal - and the goal is to improve as a player and a person. That, finally, is the most important thing of all.
You fight, you try your best, but if you lose, you dont have to break five racquets and smash up the locker room. You can do those things, but when youve finished, nothings changed. Youve still lost. If something positive came from that, I probably would do it. But I see only negativity.
I would love to learn other languages, maybe French? My uncle speaks German so maybe also German? Chinese seems to be too difficult.
I am happy with being a tennis player and the choice I took when I was 12. But clearly, if I wouldnt have been a tennis player, I would have loved to be a soccer player. But again, I am happy with the choice I made.
As a tennis player you can win and you can lose, and you have to be ready for both. I practised self-control as a kid. But as you get older they both - winning and losing - get easier.