Former world number one Rafael Nadal recently visited the tennis club
in his home city Manacor where he started playing tennis as a kid.
The Spaniard wrote on his facebook page, “Visiting the club where I grew up. Here I took my first steps into the world of tennis.”
Nadal started to play tennis at a very young age. According to Wikipedia, his uncle Toni Nadal, who has been coaching him from the very start until now, introduced him to tennis for the first time when he was just three years old.
The Spanish boy won an under-12 regional tennis championship when he was just eight years old. After four years, he captured Spanish and European Under-12 titles.
Nadal was also a very good football player till that time but then his father made him choose one sport and he opted for tennis. The Spaniard once said in an interview, "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."
The Spaniard not only started playing tennis at a very young age but also won many laurels. At the age of 15 years, he defeated 1987 Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash in an exhibition match in 2001. He turned professional during the same year. Nadal participated in just two ITF junior events, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon Juniors category in 2002 and guiding Spain to victory over US in junior Davis Cup two years later in his second event.
When Roger Federer was considered almost unbeatable, Nadal defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 32 of the Sony Ericsson Open in his very first meeting with the Swiss Maestro, being just 17 years old at that time.
Nadal became the youngest player to reach the third round of Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 2003. When he was 19-year-old, the Spaniard won his first Grand Slam at the 2005 French Open, when he was making his first appearance at the Roland Garros.
The Spanish star has won 11-Grand Slams until now and is considered one of the best tennis players of all-time. He has not played any tournament in the last six months and has already withdrawn from this month’s Australian Open but the 26-year-old is expected to make comeback with a bang during the clay court season.
Source: http://www.tennisworldusa.org/Rafael-Nadal-visits-the-club-where-he-started-tennis-articolo7727.html
The Spaniard wrote on his facebook page, “Visiting the club where I grew up. Here I took my first steps into the world of tennis.”
Nadal started to play tennis at a very young age. According to Wikipedia, his uncle Toni Nadal, who has been coaching him from the very start until now, introduced him to tennis for the first time when he was just three years old.
The Spanish boy won an under-12 regional tennis championship when he was just eight years old. After four years, he captured Spanish and European Under-12 titles.
Nadal was also a very good football player till that time but then his father made him choose one sport and he opted for tennis. The Spaniard once said in an interview, "I chose tennis. Football had to stop straight away."
The Spaniard not only started playing tennis at a very young age but also won many laurels. At the age of 15 years, he defeated 1987 Wimbledon Champion Pat Cash in an exhibition match in 2001. He turned professional during the same year. Nadal participated in just two ITF junior events, reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon Juniors category in 2002 and guiding Spain to victory over US in junior Davis Cup two years later in his second event.
When Roger Federer was considered almost unbeatable, Nadal defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the round of 32 of the Sony Ericsson Open in his very first meeting with the Swiss Maestro, being just 17 years old at that time.
Nadal became the youngest player to reach the third round of Wimbledon since Boris Becker in 2003. When he was 19-year-old, the Spaniard won his first Grand Slam at the 2005 French Open, when he was making his first appearance at the Roland Garros.
The Spanish star has won 11-Grand Slams until now and is considered one of the best tennis players of all-time. He has not played any tournament in the last six months and has already withdrawn from this month’s Australian Open but the 26-year-old is expected to make comeback with a bang during the clay court season.
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