(Reuters) – Factbox on Spain’s 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal, who will miss the French Open for the first time since his 2005 debut at the claycourt major due to injury.
Age: 36
Country: Spain
ATP ranking: 14 (Highest ranking: 1)
Grand Slam titles – 22
* Australian Open (2009, 2022)
* French Open (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022)
* Wimbledon (2008, 2010)
* U.S. Open (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019)
French Open record
* Nadal made his debut at the French Open in 2005 and has a 112-3 win-loss record at Roland Garros.
* He was knocked out in the fourth round in 2009 by Robin Soderling, while he lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals and 2021 semi-finals.
* In 2016, Nadal withdrew before his third round match due to a wrist injury.
EARLY LIFE
– Born in Manacor, Spain to Sebastian Nadal and Ana Maria Parera.
– His uncle Miguel Angel Nadal was a former soccer player who represented Barcelona, RCD Mallorca and Spain.
– Introduced to tennis by another uncle, Toni, who encouraged his naturally right-handed nephew to play left-handed as it would give him an advantage.
– Turned professional in 2001 and won the junior Davis Cup with Spain in 2002. Won the ATP newcomer of the year in 2003.
CAREER TO DATE
– Won his first ATP singles title in Poland in 2004.
– Defeated world number two Andy Roddick to guide Spain to the Davis Cup title in 2004. Won the tournament again in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2019.
– Won the French Open on debut in 2005 and a year later beat Roger Federer in the final.
– In 2007, he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win a hat-trick of Roland Garros titles.
– Won his first Wimbledon title in 2008 with a five-set victory over Roger Federer, a match dubbed the ‘the greatest tennis match in history’.
– Won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in singles. Clinched doubles gold with Marc Lopez at the 2016 Rio Games.
– Suffered his first French Open loss in 2009 to Sweden’s Robin Soderling in the fourth round.
– Regained the title the following year, beating Soderling in the final. Also won Wimbledon for a second time in 2010 before claiming his first U.S. Open title, becoming the seventh man to win all four Grand Slams.
– Matched Borg’s record of six French Open titles with his 2011 victory and overtook the Swede in 2012.
– Became the first man with eight titles at the same Grand Slam when he beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in the 2013 final at Roland Garros. He also won the U.S. Open that year.
– Became the first man to win five successive French Open titles in 2014.
– Won his second Grand Slam of 2017 at Flushing Meadows after a 10th French Open title in June.
– Claimed an 11th French Open title and his 17th major with victory over Dominic Thiem in 2018.
– Defeated Thiem again in the 2019 final to seal his 12th Roland Garros title. He also won a fourth U.S. Open crown by beating Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final.
– Matched Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles by defeating Djokovic in the French Open final in 2020.
– Got his 1,000th victory on the ATP Tour at the 2020 Paris Masters, becoming the fourth man in the professional era to achieve it.
– Suffered only his third-ever loss at Roland Garros in 2021 when he was beaten by Djokovic in the semi-finals.
– Missed chunks of the 2021 season, including Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open, due to a long-standing foot injury.
– Defeated Medvedev in the 2022 Australian Open final to win a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.
– Beat Norway’s Ruud to extend his record with his 22nd Grand Slam title and 14th French Open crown.
– Knocked out of the Wimbledon semi-finals and U.S. Open last-16 in 2022.
– In 2023, he fails to successfully defend his Australian Open crown where Djokovic triumphed and tied his record for 22 Grand Slam titles.
– Announces on Thursday that he will miss this year’s French Open after failing to regain full fitness from a hip injury suffered at the Australian Open in January,
(Compiled by Anita Kobylinska, Manasi Pathak and Aadi Nair; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)
