Rafa Nadal famously said “suffering” is a prerequisite to Grand Slam success.
In its new Rafa documentary, Netflix lifts the curtain on the agonizing pain and exhilarating passion the King of Clay brought to the court.
Netflix shared a trailer for the Rafa documentary, which airs on May 29th.
“I am not a winner. I am a competitor,” Nadal says in his mission statement that opens the documentary. “What always motivated me is the desire to keep fighting.”
“Rafael Nadal faces the end of his stunning career and long-term home in tennis’ Mount Olympus with just one thing in mind: one last triumph,” Netflix said in a statement accompanying the trailer. “His final foe isn’t a competitor, but his body.
“We will accompany him in his long goodbye and, for the first and last time ever, he will share the intimate highs and lows that have turned him into one of the biggest athletes of all time.”
The King of Clay received a rousing hero’s welcome in his return to the Australian Open in January where he sat in a baseline box watching Carlos Alcaraz rally past Novak Djokovic in the AO final to make history as the youngest man to capture the career Grand Slam.
More recently, Nadal has spent some time on court hitting with WTA stars Iga Swiatek and Alexandra Eala at the Rafa Nadal Academy in his native Mallorca.