When the legendary Rafael Nadal retired at the end of 2024 at the age of 38, he seemed to take with him not just his 22 Grand Slam titles (a record 14 of them at the French Open), but an entire world of secrets, too. Unlike so many other athletes who played a sport at the highest level for a long period of time, Nadal didn’t much seem to care to unburden his soul. Unfailingly polite, one of the greatest sportsmen to play any sport, revered by his rivals, sure—but, as a man of few words, eternally something of a cipher.
Director Zach Heinzerling’s new four-part documentary, Rafa, which premieres on Netflix on May 29, goes a long way to change all that. Yes, we see Nadal grow up in Majorca, a tennis prodigy from an early age, coached and shaped (for almost the entirety of his career, as it would turn out) by his uncle Toni, who taught him to push, and push, and push, and push. Crucially, though, we also see the toll of this pushing—on Nadal’s body as well as his psyche.
Lifelong Rafa-watchers like me, of course, are well aware of the injuries that, far too often, kept Nadal from playing far too many tournaments (over the course of his career, he missed 18 Grand Slams). But even I was taken aback, when watching Rafa, at how early these injuries started, how serious and rather existential they were, and how early and often Nadal was forced to make excruciating choices about his health and his career.
The documentary, replete with revealing conversations with (of course) Nadal, with uncle Toni, and with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, among many, many others, also delivers some incredible insight to Rafa’s renowned on-court rituals; his almost Sisyphus-like drive; his tender relationship with his family; and his crucial decision-making about ending his career.
In short: If you’re a tennis fan, or particularly a Nadal fan, this documentary is required watching. We caught up with Rafa over a Zoom to ask him about it.
Vogue: Where are you speaking to us from? I sense a little commotion in the background. . .
Rafael Nadal: I‘m in Madrid today, because tonight we have the premiere of the documentary, so we have been working on the preparations all day; I traveled yesterday from my home in Majorca.
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