Rafael Nadal, otherwise known as Rafa to his friends, is a one of the strongest tennis players of his generation – although formerly ranked world number 1 he was recently demoted to number 2! He mains ones of the greatest players of all time however.
Born on the island of Manacor, Mallorca he was introduced to tennis by his uncle, Toni Nadal. He went on to win the under 12´s championship aged 8. After going on to win further tournaments his father finally stated he needed to chose between football and tennis. Correctly Nadal chose Tennis.