50 Years, 50 Heroes: 2005, Rafael Nadal

For our sixth annual Heroes Issue, we’ve selected passages from the last 50 years of Tennis Magazine and TENNIS.com—starting in 1969 and ending in 2018—to highlight 50 worthy heroes. Each passage acknowledges the person as they were then; each subsequent story catches up with the person, or highlights their impact, as they are now. It is best summed up with a quote from the great Arthur Ashe, that was featured on the cover of the November/December issue of this magazine in 2015: “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.”

He single-handedly made the event, a top-tier tournament that was missing Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, and defending champion Marat Safin, a rousing success. There was a soccer-match atmosphere whenever he played, and a woman who I believe was the Queen of Spain showed up for the final (whoever she was, she was nearly in tears by the finish). –Stephen Tignor / October 2005

When Rafael Nadal was learning tennis on red clay in Mallorca, he dreamed of winning Wimbledon, the grass-court tournament that had befuddled Spaniards for generations. Three years before doing just that, Nadal won ATP Masters titles on an outdoor hard court in Montreal and an indoor hard court in Madrid—the “top-tier tournament” in the above quote.

Nadal will always be known as the King of Clay, but he’s proven to be much more than a single-surface specialist. He’s also proven to be much more than a historically great tennis player. First and foremost, there’s his eponymous foundation, which has helped disadvantaged children since its formation in 2008. Then there’s the Rafa Nadal Academy. Opened two summers ago in Mallorca, it will ensure that tennis remains part of the island’s identity for generations to come.

Like Nadal himself, there is much more than meets the eye at the 78,000-square foot campus located just outside Manacor’s city centre.

“Not all the kids that come here have the same goal in life,” says Nadal. “We want to help kids to try to become professional tennis players, of course. But it’s so important that the kids that come here, when they leave, to become good people—to prepare them the right way, with the right education, the right values.”

Nadal’s sportsmanship on the court, and his consideration for others off of it, are no less important than his peerless forehands or his 11 French Open titles. With his academy, Nadal is striving to imbue qualities that makes him such a great person—as well as such a great player—to help students both on and off the court.

“All the years that people will spend here won’t be for nothing,” says Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and former coach. “Apart from tennis, they will learn that there is something more, that there are aspects of sports that will serve them in life.”

As Nadal approached his 30s, he took a look at his life after professional tennis and discovered that he wanted to share his experience and perspective with players young and old. Top juniors can stay at the Rafa Nadal Academy for full-time training and academic studies, which include English instruction. Its American University system places graduates in U.S. colleges with an emphasis on obtaining tennis scholarships. In addition, week-long camps and programs are offered for adults and seniors throughout the year on its 26 tennis courts—both clay and hard.

“I believe that the impact the academy can have being already running when I am a professional tennis player can be bigger than if I made it after my tennis career,” says Nadal, who also trains at the academy. “Teaching, helping, promoting the academy is something that really motivates me.”

As if Nadal, tennis’ ultimate self starter, needs any more motivation. The man from Mallorca is no single-surface specialist, but he’s undeniably special.