Is this phrase Nadal’s greatest ace? As the tennis legend played his final match, he chose to reflect not on his monumental career, but on his life, his roots, and his friendships.
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Good person from small village retires
Is this phrase Nadal's greatest ace? As the tennis legend played his final match, he chose to reflect not on his monumental career, but on his life, his roots, and his friendships.
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Tennis ace Rafael Nadal's home in Mallorca hosts one of the biggest trophy cabinets in the world, with no fewer than 92 singles titles, including a near-record 22 grand slamsThe Grand Slam tournaments, also known as the majors, are the four most important international professional tennis events. They are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. .
His sporting ability is legendary, but so too is his reputation as one of the good guys of tennis.
Playing his last ever match in Spain this week, after a remarkable 23-year career, this modest Spaniard said he would like to be remembered as "a good person from a small village in Mallorca".
Even as he and fellow tennis legend Roger Federer battled each other on court, they became firm friends. When Federer retired in 2022, he asked Nadal to play with him one last time - not as an opponent, but as his doubles partner.
Which brings us back to Nadal's phrase: a good person from a small village.
A person, not a tennis legend, but someone who is really just the same as everyone else. And from a small village: no matter how humble one's origins, through hard work and the right attitude we all can achieve some form of greatness.
Is this phrase Nadal's greatest ace?
Yes! Few people will ever achieve as much as Nadal has by the age of 38. Yet he chose to use his platform to promote goodness and kindness to others.
No! No one would be listening to Rafa's pearls of wisdom if he had not hit a very large number of real aces over the past 23 years.
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Grand Slams - The Grand Slam tournaments, also known as the majors, are the four most important international professional tennis events. They are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Good person from small village retires
Gracious: Nadal (above) made the Davis Cup finals, in Spain, his last event after accepting that his body would no longer allow him to compete at tennis's highest level. Glossary
Grand Slams - The Grand Slam tournaments, also known as the majors, are the four most important international professional tennis events. They are the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.