Rafael Nadal: The King of Clay – His French Open Dominance and Tennis Legacy

[00:00:00] When it comes to playing tennis on a clay surface, one man put himself above all the rest. And on June 9th, 2013, he became the first man to win eight titles at one Grand Slam. And that was the French Open, known for its red clay by Roland Garros, which had been dominated over a decade by a Spaniard named Rafael Nadal, who didn't just stop there.

[00:00:28] He continued his dominance and would take over 14 titles at this location alone, becoming the undisputed King of the Clay and made his dominance expand beyond that to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Join us as we dive into Rafael Nadal and how he became the King of Clay today on Daily Sports History. Let's go!

[00:01:02] Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide, as you daily learn more about sports history.

[00:01:16] So Rafael Nadal was born in a little town on an island in Malacroix, Spain. And his family was a very athletic family. And truthfully, tennis wasn't the number one sport in the family. Although he did have an uncle that played professional tennis and would be an inspiration in his life. He had another uncle who played for Barcelona and the Spain national team.

[00:01:38] But his uncle Tony was able to take him to new heights. And starting at the age of three, he began to teach him tennis and became his lifelong mentor. And he began to play tennis at the Manicor Tennis Club under his uncle's guidance. And it was a tough love approach. If ever there was an issue, he would have to do extra chores like pick up the balls, sweep the courts to show him the value of hard work. And even though he was naturally right-handed, Uncle Tony used a strategy to convince him to use his left hand.

[00:02:08] Slowly and gradually for short periods at first, then it became his primary style. Now there's reasons for this. If you think about most sports, being left-handed has great advantages because it's a unique thing. Approximately only 10% of the world's population is left-handed. So in sports, it's generally about the same. And that low percentage makes it harder for opponents to face you no matter what sport. So this strategy was used to help him train and gave him actually an extinct advantage.

[00:02:38] And he was trained primarily on clay courts. Now there are three kind of surfaces known in tennis. Most of us, in America at least, grow up playing on hard courts. And that's what you see at the U.S. Open. And it's a very common court. What's great about it is it's consistent. You don't have unique bounces. You don't have slipping as much. It's going to be a consistent bounce. But it can be a medium-paced game. But it's predictable. Then there's grass, which is seen at Wimbledon.

[00:03:07] And it's a faster-paced game. And there's more slimpage. And if you watch Wimbledon towards the end of the matches, right around that back line, it gets really faded because they're running back and forth on it so much. And then there's clay, which is a slower-paced game. What was unique about clay is topspin works really well on clay. And so that's what he really focused on. He learned, grew up on clay. And his uncle really taught him how to have a heavy topspin forehand.

[00:03:35] And quick footwork because on clay, you have long volleys. And you need to be able to move around a lot. And so he had a unique experience growing up on clay, learning on clay, focusing on topspin, which is great on clay. And I can't say clay, clay, clay too much, right? Because he's the king of clay. But he really was. He was focused on it, okay? Even by the age of eight, he was winning regional tournaments and showing signs of great success.

[00:04:05] But he was also playing other sports and having success in soccer too. And by the age of 12, his family came to him and said he needed to decide because he was on the verge of possibly going to play professional soccer or professional tennis. And that takes a lot of time either way. So he needed to decide. And obviously, he chose tennis. And by the age of 15, he actually turned pro after intensive training with local competition. And his early years showed a combination of his natural talent

[00:04:34] and relentless discipline that he learned from his uncle, Tony. And his unique left-handed playing style really laid the groundwork for his dominance in the early years, especially playing lower level competition that weren't as skilled to go against a left-hander. Then in 2005, he arrived at Roland Garros, the location of the French Open. At just 19 years old. He had already made a name for himself, winning the Monte Carlo and the Rome Masters, both on clay.

[00:05:01] And he had been working his way up the ranks and was seated fourth and considered a strong favorite as many of his peers had already started to call him the best clay player in the world before his first French Open. And the girl began his journey, winning his first match in straight sets, showcasing flashes of his trademark intensity, focus, and topspin. And he defeated many future stars and seasoned veterans on his way to his match against the world

[00:05:30] number one tennis player at the time and his future rival, Roger Federer, who was seeking his first bid at a career Grand Slam at the time. And though he was just 19, celebrating his birthday with a semifinals knockout of Roger Federer. It's a pretty good birthday present. And he would go on to face Moreno Porta for the finals, who took him to four sets, including a tiebreaker where he would win his very first Grand Slam and his first French Open.

[00:06:00] Little did we know at the time would lead to his journey to become king of the clay. And he became the first man to win his debut at the French Open since Max Weillander in 1982 and the youngest to win it since 1986 in Michael Shing. But it was just the beginning of a legendary career and the start of a rivalry with Roger Federer. Because in the following year, they would again face in the French Open final, where Federer was number one and took the first set.

[00:06:28] But now Nadal stormed back to win his second straight French Open title and faced them again in the final of the French Open in 2007. And again, Nadal would prevail in four sets. And we meet again for the third straight year in the final of the French Open. And Nadal again would win in three sets, giving him four consecutive French Open titles, completely denying Federer of his career Grand Slam. Federer had won the Wimbledon, won Australian.

[00:06:58] The U.S. could not win the French Open because of Nadal. And what really grew their rivalry was this one thing. Nadal loved the French Open, loved dominating on clay, and would win other Grand Slams. But stopping Federer from his Grand Slam increased their rivalry, increased tennis overall. These two really grew tennis to a new level that we hadn't seen probably since McEnroe and York.

[00:07:23] It had been years since we saw a rivalry of this caliber that went on over and over and over. And reasons for it. Not that they hated each other, but their accomplishments were tied together because of the time they played together. And they kept defeating each other. And just to show you how dominant he was on clay, especially at the French Open, he had a career record of 112 wins to just four losses. A 97% winning percentage.

[00:07:51] The highest in Grand Slam history. His only defeats came at the hands of Robin Singer in 2009, Novak Djokovic in 2015-2021, and Alexander Viver in 2024. And he reached the final 14 different times and won every single final at the French Open.

[00:08:13] And across his 19 appearances at the French Open, Nadal would win 335 sets, losing just 37. And he would only get pushed to a fifth set three times. And he won all three. And he would win 2018, 2010, 2017, and 2020 all without dropping a single set.

[00:08:37] That's four straight times he won without dropping a set, meaning he did not lose a single game. And had a streak of 39 consecutive matches won between 2010 and 2015. And during this time, he would defeat the world number one player eight different times during the championship run. Mainly defeating Federer and Djokovic. And he never lost to Roger Federer in a French Open.

[00:09:03] And he would go on to win 14 French Open titles in his career, the most by any single player, at a single Grand Slam. Showcasing his dominance on clay and at the French Open. But he didn't just have success at this tournament. He would win two Australian Opens, two Wimbledons, and five U.S. Opens. But he did have some setbacks in his career. He wasn't just infallible.

[00:09:29] In 2009, he actually suffered his very first loss at Roland Garros to Robin Soldinger, ending his 31-match win streak. And this was the one and only year Federer won a French Open. Because he did not have to face Nadal. If Nadal didn't falter this time, Roger Federer, one of the greatest ever, of all time, would have not had a career Grand Slam if Nadal did not lose this match. So thank you, Robin Soldinger from Roger Federer.

[00:09:59] Because without you, his legacy would have been tarnished. But Nadal responded and came back even more aggressive after this. But the problem was, he was relentless. He was intense. He was athletic. He moved a lot. It led to a lot of physical setbacks. He missed the 2016 tournament due to a wrist injury. And it began to build up injuries that would last throughout the rest of his career. In his later years, he had even more pop up.

[00:10:25] And really led to him losing a few of his matches in the French Open at the time. But he was always determined whenever he missed out, had come back stronger. And in 2021, a statue of him, three meters tall, capturing Nadal's signature forehand, symbolizing the power and artistry he had at Clay. And they put it at the Roland Garros, showing he truly was the king. We see this sometimes in American sports that do it outside of the stadium. Michael Jordan has one. Peyton Manning has one in Indy.

[00:10:54] You see these statues outside the stadium of where these guys dominated. To see it in tennis, where you don't have a home base. You don't have a place you play all the time. But they knew he was the king, without a doubt. Way and beyond. The king of the French Open. They had to mark it. And in 2025, they released a new plaque on the court Felipe Cantare to etch Nadal's footprint, commencing his 14 titles.

[00:11:22] And the plaque is on permanent display in the red clay as a gesture of, again, of how dominant he was at this location. And as a show of solidarity for this footprint reveal, his rivals came to support him. Roger Federer was there. Djokovic was there. Andy Murray, who he battled throughout the years, was there. Showing that Nadal was a great competitor, but also loved by his rivals. It wasn't a hated rivalry. It was love and just adoration. He put everything he had into this location.

[00:11:52] Into playing on clay. And it showed going above and beyond. We don't see this at other locations. Wimbledon doesn't have this. U.S. Open doesn't have this. But we have this at Roland Garros with the French Open. Because nobody has dominated a surface and a tournament like this in tennis ever. He was one of a kind and truly wanted to be the king of the clay. He was taught to be king of the clay. And he did it. Which is truly amazing.

[00:12:20] The question is, was being king of the clay enough to be the best tennis player ever? Who do you think is? I want to thank you for joining us on today's episode of Daily Sports History. It means a lot to me. If you could, make sure you like and subscribe wherever you're at. That way you do not miss a single episode. And we'll see you on the next one.