Bloomberg's Short History of Rafael Nadal

by Helen W

Here's a fascinating (if long) article about Rafael Nadal. The authors (Danielle Rossingh and Alex Duff) discuss his growing commercial appeal as well as reveal insights into his personal life.

Keeping it real

"Consider the saga of Nadal’s $50,000 Mercedes SLK 200 Kompressor. In 2005, his breakout year as a pro, Nadal won the Mercedes Cup final in Stuttgart, Germany, with a characteristic backhand smash that his opponent couldn’t handle. In a sweat- soaked shirt, he climbed into the silver convertible sports car parked on the red-clay court -- part of his prize for winning the event -- and inched it forward a few yards.

"Toni Nadal, Rafael’s coach and uncle, who was watching from the stands, told his nephew soon after the event to forget about driving the car any farther. Toni arranged for Kia Motors Corp., a Nadal sponsor, to provide him with a $20,000 Sorento sport utility vehicle, which he drove while the Mercedes gathered dust in the family’s garage for two years."

Old-Fashioned Nadal

“Nadal is on the way to becoming a global brand,” says Steve Simon, tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, an event that the Spaniard won in March. “Beckham has been there for years. Federer has been there for years. Nadal, if he can stay healthy and continue to play like he is today, is going to be there as well.”

The product of a close-knit Spanish family that prizes discipline and modesty over fame, Nadal is taking an almost quaint route to the accumulation of wealth. While sports is full of stars like Russia’s Anna Kournikova, who once made more money from sponsors than any other female athlete without ever claiming a singles tennis title, Nadal refuses to let endorsements distract him from improving his game.

“Maybe he is just an old-fashioned type of sports person, somebody who sees the sport as the single-most-important thing,” Chadwick says.

There's lots more, including how he manages his finances, his emerging sponsorships, how his father and uncles relate to the family, and how family values remain paramount.