Rafael Nadal continues to make history in the sports world after conquering Paris again with a landslide victory over Norwegian Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the Roland Garros final.
A triumph full of emotion for various reasons, including his age, 36, and the series of injuries that have him in bad shape and that increasingly affect his physical condition. Despite this, the Spaniard continues to maintain an extraordinary sporting level, as well as increasing the zeros in his bank account.
According to the numbers published by the prestigious American magazine Forbes, specialized in the world of business and finance, the man from Manaco has accumulated 500 million dollars in profits during his career (tax and agent fee free), generated both inside and outside court.
A number that places him above Novak Djokovic, who generated close to 470 million dollars, but very far from His Majesty, Roger Federer, who managed to build a sports empire with an economic revenue of more than one billion dollars in his most 20 years old.
The medium in question was in charge of breaking down these numbers after Rafa’s victory over Ruud, which gave him his fourteenth title in Paris and made him the most successful tennis player in the history of the Grand Slams with 22 wins.
The 2 hours and 18 minutes it took him to win the Roland Garros final turned into $2.4 million, an amount he pocketed in cash prizes for winning the final. The Norwegian, meanwhile, received 1.2 million dollars.
This figure, in turn, integrates the 130.7 million dollars he has earned so far in what corresponds only to what he has done on the field. Added to the rest, so far this year the Spaniard managed to win four titles (Roland Garros, Australian Open, Melbourne ATP 250 and Acapulco ATP 500).
These 130.7 million dollars place him ahead of Federer, who reaped 130.6 million dollars, but behind Djokovic, who maintains the best mark in history with 156.5 million dollars pocketed.
Forbes also estimated that Nadal adds 23 million annual earnings corresponding to what he generates off the court with his sponsors, appearances and licenses. An income that made him the fifth highest paid tennis player in 2021, far from the Swiss who generated 90 million dollars in the last 12 months, being the tennis player with the highest income for 16 consecutive years.
PRODIGY
Rafael Nadal Parera was born on June 3, 1986 in the Majorcan town of Manacor, where the Nadals form a large family rooted on the island since the 14th century. The patriarch of the saga is named after his grandson, Rafael, and is a great music lover who directs the city orchestra. He is the son of Sebastián Nadal, director of a company that builds paddle tennis courts and organizes sporting events, and Ana María Parera, and has a sister, Isabel, his most enthusiastic admirer. It was his uncle, Antonio, Toni, who guided him down the path of tennis, until he became his coach and representative, according to the Biographies and Lives portal.
Despite the fact that the boy was better at the racket (at the age of four, Toni practiced with it for several hours a day) than at football (he was proclaimed children’s champion of Spain at the age of eleven and of the World at the age of fourteen), the little Rafa became more and more enthusiastic about football, undoubtedly attracted by the wake of his other uncle, the international footballer Miquel Àngel Nadal. Toni nipped this indecision in the bud and ordered him to abandon his studies in the 4th year of ESO to dedicate himself exclusively to tennis, much to his mother’s displeasure: “Rafa became a professional too soon. At first I had a very bad time, but finally I understood that it was impossible to combine studies with his sports career”.
Rafael Nadal entered the ATP at the end of 2001, in 818th place. He was only fifteen years old and already belonged to the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. However, he did not play his first professional match until April 29, 2002, at the Mallorca Open, defeating Paraguayan Ramón Delgado.
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