Rafael Nadal Signed and Match Used Racket | 2018 French Open and 2018 Wimbledon Semifinals

Nicknamed the “King of Clay,” Rafael Nadal holds 22 Grand Slam titles to date, and 14 French Open Championships. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

From Rafa’s 2018 French Open and Wimbledon runs, this match-used racket was photomatched to Nadal’s May 25th practice at the French Open, his June 4th French Open Fourth Round match against German Maximilian Marterer, and his July 13th 2018 Wimbledon Championships Semifinal match against Serbian Novak Djokovic. Nadal defeated Marterer on June 4th in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4), en route to his 11th French Open win. Nadal was defeated by Djokovic in the Wimbledon Semifinals after an epic 5:15 marathon, which ended 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (11), 3-6, 10-8 in favor of Djokovic.

The racket features a Babolat manufacturing label on the throat of the racket, which shows a date of January 2018, Nadal’s name, and the racket number. There is another label affixed to the inside of the throat, which shows the racket as being strung at 25kg/25kg on July 14, 2018. 

The racket is accompanied by a photo matching certificate from Sports Investors Authentication, a letter of authenticity from the Wimbledon Foundation, and James Spence Authentication in regard to the signature.

Going Deeper | Rafael Nadal

Born in Manacor, a Spanish Island of Mallorca, Rafa began playing tennis at the age of four and was coached by his uncle and former professional tennis player, Toni Nadal. 

Rafa turned professional at 15, and at 17 he became the youngest male since Boris Becker to reach the third round of Wimbledon. In 2005, Rafa stepped onto the clay courts of the French Open for the first time. He would go on to defeat Mariano Puerta and claim his first Grand Slam victory, at 19 years old. The victory catapulted him to the ranking of third best men’s tennis player in the world.

Rafa went on to win every French Open for the next three years, marking four consecutive French Open titles (2005-2008). He was subsequently referred to as the “King of Clay”. In 2008, he won both the French Open and Wimbledon against world number one, Roger Federer. That year he also took home the Gold Medal at the Beijing Olympics, earning the coveted number one ranking. Over his career, he has spent 209 total weeks at world number one and a staggering 906 consecutive weeks in the world Top 10.

In 2018, Nadal used this racket to blaze through the fourth round of the French Open against Maximilian Marterer on his way to his 11th French Open title. Nadal’s dominance over the French Open is hard to overstate. With this racket, Nadal continued a streak of 37 consecutive set wins at the French Open. Moreover, to date, Nadal has won all but five of the French Opens that have occurred in his professional career. 

Nadal also used this racket to complete his best Wimbledon run for seven years at that time in an extraordinary 5:15 semifinal defeat to Novak Djokovic, the second-longest semifinal in Wimbledon history.

Aside from his 14 French Open titles, Nadal has won the US Open four times, Wimbledon twice, and the Australian Open twice.