Career Golden Slam (Nadal) Australian Open (Nadal) 14x French Open (Nadal) 2x Wimbledon (Nadal) 3x US Open (Nadal) Olympic Gold Medal (Nadal) 36x ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (Nadal) 4x Davis Cup (Nadal)
134-528: Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 209 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Nadal won 22 Grand Slam men's singles titles, including a record 14 French Open titles . He won 92 ATP-level singles titles, including 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal , with 63 of these on clay courts . Nadal
268-580: A career-best 32 matches by winning his second Canada Masters title in Toronto, and reaching the semi-finals at Cincinnati , where he lost to Djokovic. At the Beijing Olympics , he beat Fernando González in the final to win gold. With the win, Nadal clinched the world No. 1 ranking on 18 August, ending Federer's record four-and-a-half-year reign. At the US Open , Nadal was the top seed for
402-536: A felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation , and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz). Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in
536-409: A racket and balls. The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut . Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of
670-588: A ball was struck with the palm of the hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis , and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around the end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes , Val-de-Marne, and following
804-542: A best-of-five, wins the match. Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches . In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase " Game, set, match " followed by the winning person's or team's name. A game point occurs in tennis whenever
938-428: A child he would sometimes return home from tennis lessons crying. Nadal feels being such a hard coach would make his pupils better tennis players. Nadal required that his pupils show respect for their equipment, and stated that he would immediately stop coaching Rafael if he ever threw his racket out of frustration. Nadal believes that throwing a tennis racket showed a lack of respect towards people who could not afford
1072-557: A doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking
1206-458: A fall while training. He then qualified directly to Wimbledon , having never contested in a major qualifying event before. In his major main draw debut in Wimbledon, Nadal defeated Mario Ančić , and reached the third round to became the youngest man to do so since Boris Becker in 1984. At Umag , Nadal lost to Moyá in the semi-finals. This was Nadal's only loss at a clay-court semi-final for
1340-724: A game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota , which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham , England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa . This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for the first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for
1474-435: A good athlete. You can do it from your home." Nadal already was by then practicing three times a week at Palma with former World No. 1 Carlos Moyá , who later became Nadal's mentor and confidant, and whom Nadal beat in 2000, at the time still a Top-10 player, in an exhibition match. The decision to stay home meant less financial support from the federation; instead, Nadal's father covered the costs. Nadal turned professional at
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#17327765993881608-571: A group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen . Players turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to
1742-532: A hard-court major) to win his first hard-court major singles title, and was the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. At Rotterdam , Nadal sustained a knee injury during the final, which he lost to Andy Murray. In March, Nadal beat Janko Tipsarević and Novak Djokovic to help Spain beat Serbia in Davis Cup round one. At Indian Wells , Nadal won his 13th Masters tournament, beating Andy Murray in
1876-462: A natural advantage on the tennis court. The transition was difficult for Nadal, but Toni helped him make the change, getting him to try it for just 20 minutes per day before gradually increasing that time until he fully adjusted himself to it. Nadal won the Spanish junior championships in 1997 and 1998, beating Ricardo Villacorta and Marcel Granollers respectively. In 1998 Nadal reached the final of
2010-399: A particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy , although there was also suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France , who had a court set up at
2144-413: A sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins
2278-492: A sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in
2412-579: A significant debate on how to standardise the rules. In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge , a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play. She laid out a tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island , New York. The first American National championship
2546-459: A turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require
2680-622: A wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. Toni Nadal List of career achievements by Rafael Nadal 873–185 (83.75%) Antonio " Toni " Nadal Homar ( Spanish pronunciation: [anˈtonjo ˈtoni naˈðal oˈmaɾ] ; born 21 February 1961)
2814-500: A year and a half". In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , meaning "ball-playing"), and which was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall , in Llanelidan , Wales. According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist , "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of
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#17327765993882948-405: Is a let or net service , which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball
3082-469: Is a Spanish tennis coach. Toni Nadal is the uncle and ex-coach of tennis player Rafael Nadal , the elder brother of Spanish professional footballer Miguel Ángel Nadal , and the current coach of tennis player Félix Auger-Aliassime . With 16 major titles won as the coach of his nephew Rafael Nadal, he was the most successful coach in tennis history until Marián Vajda and his player Novak Djokovic won their 17th major title together in 2020 . Toni Nadal
3216-572: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame , a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only
3350-482: Is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called
3484-434: Is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults , and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally , in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except
3618-519: Is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set , where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". A match consists of
3752-417: Is often the same width as the others. The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server , and the opposing player is the receiver . The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind
3886-605: Is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles. His 81 consecutive wins on clay constitute the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era . For nearly two decades, Nadal was a leading figure in men's tennis, alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic , collectively known as the Big Three . Early in his career, Nadal became one of the most successful teenagers in ATP Tour history, reaching No. 2 in
4020-422: Is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces. Grass , clay , and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of
4154-580: The Buenos Aires Open , Nadal admitted that Rafael would have probably already replaced him had he not been his uncle. In December 2016, Rafael added countryman Carlos Moyá , a former world number one player, to work alongside Nadal as his coach. Nadal was the first one to contact Moyá to see if he would be willing to join Rafael's coaching team, thinking it was the perfect time to include him. Moyá also planned to work with Nadal on projects with
Rafael Nadal - Misplaced Pages Continue
4288-720: The French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball ). In 1913,
4422-588: The French Open , becoming the fifth man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title without losing a set. He beat Federer in the final for the third straight year, losing only four games, and gave Federer his first bagel since 1999. This was Nadal's fourth consecutive French title, tying Borg's all-time record. Nadal became the fourth male player during Open Era to win the same Grand Slam singles tournament for four consecutive years. Nadal faced Federer in
4556-715: The Italian Open beating Federer in a fifth-set tiebreak in the final, and equaled Björn Borg 's tally of 16 ATP titles won as a teenager. At five hours and five minutes, this was the longest match Federer and Nadal ever contested and it is considered to be where their rivalry began in earnest. The New York Times compared it to the Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier rivalry in boxing . Nadal then broke Argentinian Guillermo Vilas 's 29-year male record of 53 consecutive clay-court match victories by beating Robin Söderling in
4690-572: The Louvre Palace . It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez , which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off
4824-640: The Rafa Nadal Academy . In late February 2017, Nadal announced he had decided to retire from his nephew's coaching staff. Nadal had informed Moyá and his brother (and Rafael's father) Sebastián of his intentions. Nadal originally withheld the knowledge of his plans to separate from Rafael, who found out when the news was released to the press. Nadal did not tell Rafael about his decision because he did not want to distract Rafael from playing tennis. Nadal stated that he later regretted keeping this information from his nephew. Nadal shifted his focus to
4958-584: The Roland Garros final in Paris, breaking a tie with Lennart Bergelin , coach of Björn Borg between 1974–1981. In 2015, after Rafael Nadal lost in the second round at Wimbledon to Dustin Brown , who was ranked No. 102 at the time, former world No. 1 John McEnroe said on BBC Radio 5 Live that the Spanish tennis star should "get a new damn coach". Rafael had failed to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slam events that year. In February 2016, at
5092-678: The Spanish national team . As a child, he idolized Ronaldo , and through his uncle was given access to the Barcelona team dressing room to have a photo taken with the Brazilian. Another uncle, tennis coach Toni Nadal , introduced him to tennis when he was three years old. Nadal started to play tennis at the Manacor Tennis Club, where Toni worked as a coach, hitting his first few shots with his uncle. At this stage Nadal's passion
5226-681: The Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award five times and was the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2011 and 2021. Time named Nadal one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. Representing Spain, he won two Olympic gold medals, and led the nation to five Davis Cup titles. Nadal has also opened a tennis academy in Mallorca , and is an active philanthropist. Rafael Nadal Parera
5360-546: The Torneo Conde de Godó in Barcelona defeating the former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final; which meant he was ranked in the top 10 for the first time in his career. He then beat 2004 French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria in the finals of the 2005 Monte Carlo Masters and the 2005 Italian Open . These victories raised his ranking to world No. 5 and made him one of the favorites at his career-first French Open . On his 19th birthday, Nadal defeated Federer in
5494-611: The US Open Nadal lost in the semi-finals to eventual champion Juan Martín del Potro. At the ATP Finals , Nadal lost all three of his matches to Robin Söderling , Nikolay Davydenko , and Djokovic without winning a set. In December, Nadal beat Tomáš Berdych in the Davis Cup final. Spain secured its fourth Davis Cup victory. Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. In his first ATP tournament of
Rafael Nadal - Misplaced Pages Continue
5628-578: The World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament. At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia – today's Grand Slam events. The impact on
5762-479: The double Career Grand Slam in singles, finishing his career with 22 Grand Slam singles titles. On November 19, 2024, Nadal retired from the sport after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals . As a left-handed player, one of Nadal's main strengths was his forehand, delivered with heavy topspin. He frequently ranked among the tour leaders in return games, return points, and break points won. Nadal won
5896-459: The doubles event with Tommy Robredo , becoming the first player since Jim Courier in 1991 to win the singles and doubles titles at a Masters Series event. Nadal won his fourth consecutive title at Barcelona . Nadal won his first Masters Hamburg title, defeating Federer, to become the third player to have won all three clay-court Masters Series titles, in Rome, Monte Carlo and Hamburg. He then won
6030-464: The " Battle of Surfaces " exhibition match in Mallorca, with the court being half grass and half clay. Nadal was upset in the quarterfinals at Queen's . Nadal then won consecutive five-set matches during the third and fourth rounds of Wimbledon before being beaten by Federer in a five-set final. This was Federer's first five-set match at Wimbledon since 2001. In July, Nadal beat Stan Wawrinka in
6164-977: The 12-year-old Nadal was playing in the U14 circuit of the ETA Junior Tour (now the Tennis Europe Junior Tour ), winning the Tim Essonne , and finishing the year at No. 69. In 2000, Nadal dominated the U14 circuit, winning Les Petits As in Tarbes , beating Julien Gely in the final, and the European Junior Masters in Prato . On the day he turned 14, Nadal won the Sport Goofy Trophy in Getxo , beating Granollers in
6298-406: The 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to
6432-507: The ETA rankings for U14s. His junior results secured Nadal a tennis scholarship in Barcelona , and the Spanish tennis federation requested that Nadal move to Barcelona to continue his tennis training. His family turned down this request, partly because they feared his education would suffer, but also because Toni said, "I don't want to believe that you have to go to America or other places to be
6566-403: The French Open semi-finals, being one of only four players to defeat him that year. Then he defeated Mariano Puerta in the final, becoming the second man to win the French Open on his first attempt. He also became the first male teenager to win a major singles title since Pete Sampras won the 1990 US Open at age 19. His ranking rose to No. 3. Three days later, Nadal's 24-match winning streak
6700-422: The French Open, and he then broke Chris Evert 's overall record of 29 by beating Teymuraz Gabashvili in round two. This run came to an end on 31 May 2009 , when Nadal was upset by the eventual runner-up, Robin Söderling in the 4th round. This was Nadal's first loss at the French Open. Former champion Mats Wilander stated after the match that "Everybody's in a state of shock, I would think. At some point, Nadal
6834-643: The IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988. The Davis Cup , an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup , was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF. In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with
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#17327765993886968-666: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And
7102-463: The Olympics after the 1924 Games , but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier , ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch . The success of the event was overwhelming, and
7236-679: The U14 Spanish championship at the age of 12, a feat that remains unmatched, losing to Juan Sanchez de Luna in straight sets. In late 1998, Nadal won the season-ending U12 Junior Masters at Stuttgart, beating future world No. 5 Kevin Anderson in the final. In February 1998, Nadal competed outside Spain for the first time and won the Open Super 12, an unofficial world championship for U12 players in Auray . He beat 1997 winner Jamie Murray in
7370-624: The United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East . The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region. Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on
7504-472: The Wimbledon final). Federer won the final and his fourth consecutive Wimbledon title. Nadal was upset in the third round of the Rogers Cup in Toronto and in the quarterfinals of Cincinnati by Juan Carlos Ferrero. At the US Open he lost in the quarterfinals to No. 54 Mikhail Youzhny . Nadal played only three tournaments for the remainder of the year. Joachim Johansson , ranked No. 690, upset Nadal in
7638-554: The Year Award. At the US Open , Nadal lost in round two to Younes El Aynaoui . In September, Nadal entered the final Challenger event of his career, on hard courts in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, retiring with an injury against Richard Gasquet , who never defeated Nadal again. Nadal finished the year ranked as the world No. 49. Nadal won Chennai Open doubles , with Tommy Robredo defeating Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in
7772-452: The abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era , in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image (although it
7906-422: The adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye . Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as the majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for
8040-454: The arm than most strings. Most synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts. Polyester strings allow for more spin on
8174-432: The ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones. Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm. Hybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for
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#17327765993888308-410: The baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve , although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this
8442-406: The baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm ( 1 ⁄ 3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside
8576-479: The beginning of 2001, at the age of 14. He reached the semi-finals of the junior singles event at Wimbledon and helped Spain defeat the US in the final of the Junior Davis Cup . In early 2001, aged 14, Nadal began playing the qualifying draws of professional tournaments. In May 2001, he defeated former Grand Slam tournament champion Pat Cash in a clay-court exhibition match. Nadal made his pro debut in
8710-442: The chair umpire in tournament play. A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server , has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win
8844-536: The clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874." The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874. This was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in
8978-491: The coaching team of Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime ahead of the clay-court season. However, Nadal will not be traveling with Félix full-time. He has remained the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar . Nadal has described his coaching style as 'hard', saying that he occasionally puts too much pressure on Rafael, but that he does so because he wants him to succeed. When Rafael was younger, he would be nervous of having lessons by himself with Nadal. Rafael stated that as
9112-424: The court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline
9246-490: The courts. In his 2011 autobiography, he admitted fearing Toni and dreading solo practice sessions with him. Nadal admitted he sometimes returned home from tennis lessons crying. At age 8, Nadal won an under-12 regional tennis championship while also being a promising football player. This victory inspired Toni to train Nadal more intensively. After studying Nadal's two-handed forehand , Toni encouraged him to play left-handed for
9380-399: The credit for the development of modern tennis." According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced a boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with
9514-496: The fifth set 9–7 in near-darkness. The match was widely lauded as the greatest Wimbledon final ever, with many tennis critics calling it the greatest match in tennis history. By winning Wimbledon, Nadal became the third man in the Open Era to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, as well as the second Spaniard to win Wimbledon. He also ended Federer's streak of five consecutive Wimbledon titles and 65 straight wins on grass courts. Nadal extended his winning streak to
9648-509: The final of Wimbledon for the third consecutive year, in the most anticipated match of their rivalry . Nadal entered the final on a 23-match winning streak, including his first career grass-court title at Queen's . Unlike their previous two Wimbledon finals, Federer was not the prohibitive favorite, and many analysts picked Nadal to win. At 4 hours and 48 minutes, they played the longest final (in terms of time on court, surpassed in 2019) in Wimbledon history, and because of rain delays, Nadal won
9782-495: The final of Hamburg . This defeat ended his 81-match winning streak on clay , which is the male Open Era record for consecutive wins on a single surface. He bounced back quickly in the French Open , not dropping a set en route to the final where he faced Federer once again, this time winning in four sets to join Björn Borg as the only men to win three French Open titles in a row. Between Barcelona and Rome, Nadal beat Federer in
9916-552: The final of the clay-court Stuttgart Open . Nadal was a semi-finalist in Montreal before losing his first match at the Cincinnati Open . At 2007 US Open, he was defeated in the fourth round by David Ferrer , and spent the tournament dealing with a knee injury. At Madrid and Paris , David Nalbandian beat Nadal in straight sets in the quarterfinals and final. Nadal won two of his three-round robin matches to advance to
10050-523: The final, but won hardly any other match on the tour. At the US Open , Nadal lost to defending champion Andy Roddick in the second round. In the doubles he and Robredo upset the No. 4 seeds in the third round and reached the semi-finals; Nadal's best performance in a grand slam doubles event. In the 2004 Davis Cup final, 18-year-old Nadal beat world No. 2 Andy Roddick on clay in Spain to help his nation clinch
10184-402: The final. At the 2005 Australian Open , Nadal lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, he reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters , but was defeated by No. 1 Roger Federer. He dominated the spring clay-court season. He won 24 consecutive singles matches, breaking Andre Agassi 's Open Era record of consecutive match wins for a male teenager. Nadal won
10318-620: The final. At the Miami Masters , Nadal lost to del Potro in the quarterfinals. At Monte Carlo , Nadal beat Djokovic in the final to win a record fifth consecutive singles title. He won Barcelona and Italian Open , defeating Ferrer and Djokovic respectively. In the semi-finals of the Madrid Open , Nadal saved three match points to defeat Djokovic in a deciding set tiebreaker to take his career record over Djokovic to 14–4 and his clay record since 2005 to 150–4. At 4 hours 3 minutes, it
10452-592: The final. At the time, Nadal was torn between football and tennis, partly because his uncle Miguel Ángel was preparing to compete in the 1998 FIFA World Cup with Spain. Nadal said winning the Auray tournament helped him make the decision to "opt for tennis and try an international career". In 1998, when Nadal was runner-up in the U14 event Spanish championship, he was still playing football. Nadal's father insisted he choose between football and tennis to so his schoolwork wouldn't suffer, leading Nadal to quit football. In 1999,
10586-445: The final. In July, Nadal won the U14 Spanish championships, beating his friend and training partner Tomeu Salvá in the final, despite breaking a finger on his left hand during the first round. As a member of the Spanish national team, Nadal won the 2000 ITF World Junior Championship for players under 14, winning his matches in both singles and doubles (paired with Marcel Granollers ) in a 3–0 win over Russia. Nadal ended 2000 at No. 5 of
10720-486: The final; Nadal's second doubles title and first on hard courts. In singles, Nadal had his 5th consecutive loss after a first round exit to Thierry Ascione ; this remains the worst losing streak of his career. At Auckland he reached the first ATP final of his career, which he lost to Dominik Hrbatý . Nadal reached the third round of the Australian Open , where he lost in straight sets to former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt . Ranked No. 34, Nadal faced No. 1 Roger Federer for
10854-467: The first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others. Between 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem , a solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed
10988-407: The first player in the Open Era to win the same tournament for six straight years. At Italian Open , he defeated David Ferrer in the final for his fifth title. At Madrid , Nadal beat Federer in straight sets to become the first man to complete a clean sweep of the three clay-court Masters 1000 titles and was his 18th Masters title, breaking Andre Agassi 's all-time record. He moved back to No. 2 in
11122-534: The first player since Andre Agassi in 1994–95 to finish the year ranked No. 2 in consecutive years. At the Australian Open , Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Fernando González . After another quarterfinal loss at Dubai , he won Indian Wells after beating Novak Djokovic in the final, before losing to Djokovic in the quarterfinals of Miami . He won the titles at the Monte Carlo , Barcelona and Rome , before losing to Roger Federer in
11256-507: The first round of the French Open . Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, the first-ever meeting of their historic rivalry . He won the final over Federer to become the first player to beat Federer in a major final. At Wimbledon , Nadal beat No. 20 Andre Agassi in Agassi's last ever match at Wimbledon. Nadal won his next three matches to reach his first Wimbledon final (the first Spanish man since Manuel Santana in 1966 to reach
11390-588: The first time at a major. He lost in the semi-finals to Andy Murray . Nadal helped Spain defeat the United States in the Davis Cup semi-finals. At the Madrid Masters , Nadal lost in the semi-finals to Gilles Simon . He ended the year-end No. 1, making him the first Spaniard to finish the year No. 1 in the Open Era. At the Paris Masters , Nadal withdrew from his quarterfinal because of a knee injury and ended his season. At Qatar Open , Nadal lost in
11524-541: The first time in the third round of the Miami Open , winning in straight sets before losing to Fernando González in the fourth round. At Estoril , Nadal suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle during his round of 16 victory over Richard Gasquet, causing him to miss 3 months of play, the French Open , and Wimbledon. He won his first ATP singles title at the Prokom Open by defeating No. 105 José Acasuso in
11658-497: The following guidelines; The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm). Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in
11792-533: The four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event. The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen . That same year, tennis withdrew from
11926-404: The game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair. If a tiebreak
12060-411: The game has break point , double break point or triple break point , respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve , as
12194-565: The hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon , kevlar , or polyester . The first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on
12328-454: The late 19th century as lawn tennis . It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis . The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been
12462-649: The main draw at the Futures in Madrid on 11 September 2001, wasting 13 match points against Guillermo Platel-Varas in the opening round. He received a wild card into the main draw of the Challenger in Seville , his first Challenger tournament, and beat world No. 751 Israel Matos Gil 6–4 6–4 to claim his first pro win and earn the first five ATP points of his career to become world No. 1002. At age 15, Nadal ended 2001 as
12596-553: The mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses. Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with
12730-427: The most Grand Slam titles won as a coach with 16 until February 2, 2020, when Marián Vajda and Novak Djokovic won their 17th Grand Slam title together in the Australian Open , giving Vajda the sole possession of the top position in the history of tennis. Toni Nadal previously assumed the lead on coaches' rank list with his 12th Grand Slam title as a coach on June 9, 2013, when Rafael Nadal defeated David Ferrer in
12864-399: The net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at
12998-526: The next 12 years, as he then began a streak of 52 consecutive wins in semi-final matches on clay that ended at the 2015 Rio Open . Nadal won his first ATP title (doubles or singles) at Umag , partnering Álex López Morón to beat Todd Perry and Thomas Shimada in the final. Nadal won his second Challenger title of the year in August at Segovia , thus entering the top 50 and winning the ATP Newcomer of
13132-540: The next three years behind Roger Federer. His winning streak ended in the first round of the Cincinnati Open at the hands of Tomáš Berdych . Nadal was seeded second at the 2005 US Open , but was upset in the third round by No. 49 James Blake . In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth Masters title of
13266-408: The official ITF list of approved tennis balls. Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with
13400-474: The opponent is not able to play a valid return. If a player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point . Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users . The original forms of tennis developed in France during the late Middle Ages . The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham , England, in
13534-488: The player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by
13668-410: The player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when
13802-408: The players that he coached. He wanted his opinions to be important to players he was coaching rather than it just being advice. He did not want to be paid by Rafael Nadal because he believed that it would make him less of an important figure. Without being paid, he could say whatever he felt without a chance of Rafael being able to fire him like a regular coach. Toni Nadal was the record holder of
13936-420: The quarterfinals to Gaël Monfils . He won the doubles with Marc López , beating No. 1-ranked Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the final. At the Australian Open , Nadal won his first five matches without dropping a set, before beating Fernando Verdasco in the semis in the fifth-longest match in Australian Open history (5 hours 14 minutes). Nadal beat Federer in a five-set final (their first meeting in
14070-402: The rankings. Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles ) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles ). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court . The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that
14204-449: The receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back . Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles . This involves three players, with one person playing against
14338-414: The receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score. A set consists of
14472-420: The same equipment and the sport itself. Nadal strives to teach players to be responsible for themselves. He trained Rafael on poor tennis courts with old tennis balls to show that it was not the equipment that would decide if he won or lost. He believed that losing was a fact of competing in sports and that the only one responsible for winning or losing was the player. Nadal had an authoritarian attitude with
14606-578: The second round he beat the 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa , then ranked No. 7 (his first top 10 career win) and he entered the world's top 100. Nadal reached his fifth Challenger final of the year in Aix-en-Provence, which he lost to Mariano Puerta . In May, 16-year-old Nadal entered his second Masters event at Hamburg , where he upset No. 4 Carlos Moyá before losing to future French Open Champion Gaston Gaudio in round three. Nadal postponed his French Open debut after injuring his elbow in
14740-478: The second round of the Stockholm Open and he lost to Tomáš Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters . During the round-robin stage of the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup , Nadal lost to James Blake but defeated Nikolay Davydenko and Robredo. Nadal qualified for the semi-finals, where he lost to Federer. This was Nadal's third loss in nine career matches with Federer. Nadal went on to become
14874-444: The semi-finals before losing to Lamine Ouahab . Nadal then won six of the nine Futures events he entered from July until December, including 5 on clay and 1 on hard courts. Nadal finished 2002 with a Futures record of 40–9 in singles and 10–9 in doubles. In October, Nadal achieved his first victory over a top-100 player by defeating No. 76 Albert Montañés in the quarterfinals of a Challenger at Barcelona, before losing to Albert Portas in
15008-553: The semi-finals of Marseille . Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Open , ending Federer's 56-match hard court winning streak. Nadal was then upset in the semi-finals of Indian Wells by James Blake, and in the second round of Miami by Carlos Moyá. Nadal beat Federer in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters and Tommy Robredo in the Barcelona final. He won
15142-644: The semi-finals of the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, where Federer defeated him in straight sets. Nadal reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the first time, losing in straight sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga . He lost to Nikolay Davydenko in the Miami final. At Monte Carlo , Nadal beat Federer in the final for the third year in a row to become the first player to win four consecutive titles there since Anthony Wilding in 1914. He also won
15276-455: The semi-finals. Nadal ended 2002 as the world No. 199. Nadal continued his ascent in early 2003, reaching the finals of Challengers at Hamburg , Cherbourg and Cagliari , and winning at Barletta . He scored a total of 19 Challenger wins in the first three months of the season to find himself inside the Top 150. He then qualified for his second career ATP event, the Monte Carlo Masters , where in
15410-404: The service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it
15544-417: The singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield . In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle. Tennis
15678-521: The sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open , played on hardcourts ; the French Open , played on red clay courts ; Wimbledon , played on grass courts ; and the US Open , also played on hardcourts. Additionally, tennis was one of the original Olympic sports , and has been consistently competed in the Summer Olympic Games since 1988 . Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where
15812-468: The start of a new point. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making
15946-470: The title over the United States. In doing so at 18 years and six months of age, he became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation. Nadal finished the year ranked No. 51, mainly because he missed most of the clay court season. 2005 started with a doubles title alongside Albert Costa at the Qatar Open , defeating Andrei Pavel and Mikhail Youzhny in
16080-536: The wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis . An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written c. 1705 , read, in part: Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball: Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. The invention of
16214-823: The world was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open , was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino , Newport, Rhode Island . The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia . Tennis also became popular in France, where
16348-538: The world No. 811. In 2002, Nadal, then ranked No. 762, received a wild card to the ATP 250 event on his home island of Mallorca , where on 29 April, Nadal won his first ATP match by defeating No. 81 Ramón Delgado , and became the ninth player in the Open Era to do so before the age of 16. He did not compete for two months as he studied for school exams and missed the junior French Open in June. At junior Wimbledon, he reached
16482-399: The world and winning 16 titles before turning 20 including his first Grand Slam title at 2005 French Open. Nadal became the world No. 1 for the first time in 2008 after defeating Federer in a historic Wimbledon final , his first major victory off clay. He followed this with an Olympic singles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics . After defeating Djokovic in the 2010 US Open final, Nadal became
16616-543: The year, Nadal reached the final of the Qatar Open , losing to Nikolay Davydenko . At the Australian Open , Nadal reached the quarterfinals, where he retired at 3–0 down in the third set against Andy Murray . Nadal reached the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Open and Miami Masters , losing to the eventual champions. Nadal won Monte Carlo , beating Fernando Verdasco in the final. It was his first title in 11 months, having lost only 14 games en route to become
16750-427: The year, against Ivan Ljubičić at the 2005 Madrid Masters , his biggest indoor title to this day. A foot injury prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup . Nadal (with 11 titles) broke Mats Wilander's previous teenage season record of nine in 1983. Nadal was awarded ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award. Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury. In February, he lost in
16884-526: The youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam at 24, and the first man to win majors on three different surfaces in the same year. Nadal won Grand Slam singles titles in 10 consecutive years from 2005 to 2014 and a four year span from 2017 until 2020. He surpassed his joint-record with Djokovic and Federer for the most Grand Slam men's singles titles at the 2022 Australian Open , and became one of four men in history to complete
17018-580: Was at the time the longest three-set singles match on the ATP Tour, and was voted the best match ever at the Madrid Open in 2022. Exhausted, Nadal lost the final to Roger Federer. This was Nadal's first defeat on clay in 33 matches and his first loss to Federer since the semi-finals of the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup. By beating Marcos Daniel in the first round of the French Open , Nadal broke Björn Borg 's 28-year male record of 28 consecutive victories at
17152-457: Was born into a Spanish family and has two siblings, brothers. His younger brother Miguel became a professional football player for FC Barcelona . Toni Nadal tried participating in several sports including football, table tennis , and swimming . He achieved the title of junior champion of Balearic Islands in his table tennis career. He was the first of his siblings to play ground tennis when he started doing so at fourteen years old. Nadal
17286-517: Was born on 3 June 1986 in Manacor on the island of Mallorca , Spain, to Ana María Parera Femenías and Sebastián Nadal Homar. His father is a businessman who owns an insurance company, a glass and window company, and a restaurant. His mother owned a perfume shop but gave it up to raise Nadal and his younger sister, María Isabel. One of his uncles, Miguel Ángel Nadal , is a retired professional footballer who played for RCD Mallorca , FC Barcelona and
17420-402: Was football, which he often played on the streets of Manacor with his friends. He began to play tennis more regularly when he was five. Toni quickly realized that his young nephew had both the passion and talent to be a serious player. Nadal often played tennis in a group, but Toni singled him out during sessions, shouting at him instead of the other kids, and making him pick up the balls and sweep
17554-457: Was going to lose. But nobody expected it to happen today, and maybe not this year." Nadal withdrew from Queen's and Wimbledon due to suffering from tendinitis in both knees. Nadal dropped back to No. 2 behind Federer on 6 July 2009. At the Montreal , Nadal lost in the quarterfinals to del Potro, meaning he dropped outside the top two for the first time since July 2005. He lost in the semi-finals of Cincinnati to Djokovic in straight sets. At
17688-649: Was inspired to join the sport when he saw Ilie Năstase win the Barcelona Masters in 1972. Nadal worked as a tennis coach and as a manager for a tennis club. He obtained a trainer's degree and taught at the tennis club his brother Miguel was a member of in Manacor. Nadal also became a manager of the Manacor tennis club while teaching younger students. At this time, Nadal began coaching his nephew, Rafael Nadal. The majority of Toni Nadal's coaching career has been spent with Rafael. In April 2021, Nadal joined
17822-565: Was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $ 100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth . There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston was larger than the one normally used in New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in
17956-634: Was snapped in the first round on grass at Halle , Germany, where he lost to No. 147 Alexander Waske . He then lost in the second round of 2005 Wimbledon to No. 69 Gilles Müller . Following his Wimbledon loss, Nadal won 16 consecutive matches and three consecutive tournaments, the Swedish Open , Stuttgart Open , and the Canada Masters , defeating Agassi in the final of the latter to win the first hardcourt title of his career and to bring his ranking to No. 2 on 25 July 2005, where he remained for
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