He always wants to make small tweaks and get better. You would think someone with the most major championships in men’s tennis history would be fine and complacent. Keep moving forward, no matter how slowly.Ģ) Rafa is constantly looking for ways to grow and adapt and make changes. I try to remember Rafa when I am beat down or life has shaken me to my core. That is such an amazing lesson for our own lives as we go through adversity and inevitably get knocked down. No matter if he is down two sets to none, no matter how badly he might appear to be beaten, no matter how exhausted he may be after five plus hours of grueling tennis, Rafa will never quit. Here are my top 7 lessons from Rafa that we can apply to all of our lives:ġ) He never, ever gives up. I could write multiple posts about what I love and admire about each of them, but this post will focus on my favorite: the one and only Rafa. The “Big Three” of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have been simply amazing these past 17-20 years, and we will likely never, ever see anything close to it again in tennis. It has been the greatest honor and privilege of my sports watching life to witness this era of incredibly high level of men’s tennis. Who knows how many more years or tournaments I will have the pleasure of watching Rafa play, as he is 36 years-old and constantly battling injuries. From the moment I laid eyes on him in early 2005 as he was playing tennis on the clay courts of Europe, I was fascinated by his grit, passion, determination, fighting spirit, sportsmanship, humility, love of competition, and incredible perspective about tennis as just a game in life.Īs Wimbledon 2022 gets underway this week and Rafa is coming off yet another French Open championship (his 14th!), as well as his record 22nd total major championship, I figured this would be as good a time as ever to pay homage to my sporting idol. Rafa teaches me so much more than just about tennis. Vamos, Rafa! Many who know me well know how much I love the Spanish word “Vamos” (let’s go!), and how much I love and admire Rafael Nadal as an athlete and human being. Log # 2: “Vamos, Rafa!” Why Rafael Nadal is my sporting idol, and how we all can learn from him to make our lives better

Vamos rafa