French Open champion Rafael Nadal has said he nearly ended his season after being forced to withdraw from the Indian Wells semi-finals with a knee injury in March.
Amid increasing speculation surrounding his participation at the Rio Olympics, the Spanish Olympic Committee chief has confirmed that 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will represent his nation at the global spectacle.
Rafael Nadal beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2, 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final on Saturday with a dominant performance that he described as emotional after his long injury absence.
There was no rain break, no twilight five-set drama and no Wimbledon trophy on offer on Friday but none of that bothered ageless Swiss maestro Roger Federer. The only thing that mattered to the 20-time Grand Slam champion was that, unlike in his last grasscourt duel with Rafael Nadal 11 years ago, he had won the "crazy last game" which sealed his passage into a 12th Wimbledon final.
Novak Djokovic has suffered more than his fair share of heartache against Rafael Nadal at the French Open but Sunday's final offers him a chance to dethrone the claycourt king.
With each passing year questions are inevitably asked about whether Nadal's vice-like hold on the French Open will be loosened. Each time, the answer has been an emphatic NO.
Nadal will have the chance to claim the top spot back on Monday if he wins his third title in Acapulco
Spanish Tennis ace Rafael Nadal has dismissed reports that he's romancing pop star Shakira.
Nadal, who is the clear tournament favourite and looks to be in the form of his life on clay this season, raced into a 3-0 lead before Spanish compatriot Almagro felt his left knee with less than half an hour played.
David Ferrer has backed fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal to bounce back to winnings ways, saying the latter will surely be a major contender in all the grand slams next year provided he remains injury-free.
Novak Djokovic beat defending champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 to move into the semi-finals of the French Open, in the process spoiling the Spaniard's 29th birthday celebrations.
17 is an incredible number. I want to enjoy the moment, says Nadal, who also admits he thought he would have retired by now.
Federer being out of the way does not hand Nadal a free path to glory in Melbourne
Top seed Rafael Nadal produced a claycourt masterclass on Saturday to demolish German Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 to reach the final of the Barcelona Open.
Bulgarian's Grigor Dimitrov claimed a first career win over former world number one Rafael Nadal at the eighth time of asking to reach the semi-finals of the China Open on Friday.
The victory earned the American a place in the Pacific Life Open final against Roger Federer.
Rafael Nadal won his first title of the year with a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Rafael Nadal began his year in perfect fashion with a three-set victory over Frenchman Gael Monfils in the Qatar Open in Doha on Saturday as he warms up for this month's Australian Open.
Australian Open champion Rafa Nadal said he would love to finish his career with more Grand Slam titles than rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic but thinks he will have to secure more than 21 to do so.
The 35-year-old Swiss, showing no sign of losing his edge, improved to 19-1 this year, winning the Australian Open in five sets over Nadal, and BNP Paribas Open in straight sets over fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.
Rafael Nadal blasted the decision not to award Madrid the 2020 Olympic Games, claiming the International Olympic Committee had not treated the Spanish capital fairly.
Rafael Nadal has criticised Wimbledon's unique seedings formula, which could hinder his chances of a third title when the tournament starts on Monday.
Spain's World No 5 Rafael Nadal has been ruled out of opening singles rubber against India in their Davis Cup World Group play-off in New Delhi on Friday.
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has entered the quarter-finals of the ATP Acapulco tournament with a comprehensive straight-sets victory over Italy's Paolo Lorenzi.
Rafael Nadal continued his brilliant revival at the Australian Open to topple Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4 on Wednesday and reach his first grand slam semi-final in three years.
In Sunday's final the Belgian will meet Stefan Koubek, who beat Carlos Moya in the second semi-final at the Chennai Open.
German seventh seed Alexander Zverev recovered from a slow start to beat former champion Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Australian Open on Wednesday to reach his first career Grand Slam semi-final. Swiss Wawrinka, who won the first of his three Grand Slams at Melbourne Park in 2014, broke Zverev twice early in the opening set to breeze through the opening set but the 22-year-old German came roaring back into the contest.
World number one Rafael Nadal suffered a rare second-set meltdown before recovering to beat plucky Slovakian Lukas Lacko and join rival Roger Federer in the Qatar Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Spain's tennis star Rafael Nadal had a surprise visitor during his training session on Monday.
Rafael Nadal's match was interrupted by a female spectator campaigning for Catalan independence
Serena Williams, hoping to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title, will start her campaign against fellow American Kristie Ahn.
Nadal will next face Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Rafael Nadal, after having suffered a 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) loss in the quarter-finals of the Swiss Indoors to teenager Borna Coric, has shut down his season to undergo appendix surgery.
Images from Day 4 at the Wimbledon Championships, on Thursday.
Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal on Wednesday pulled out of the Queen's club grass-court tournament, due to wrist injury.
The unanswerable question, of course, is whether Djokovic is the GOAT. That's a complex issue over which fans will forever bicker, observes Kanika Datta.
He was slapped with $24,000 in fines on Friday but was allowed to play two matches in the doubles tournament with partner Simone Bolelli before the Grand Slam Board announced their decision to suspend Fognini on Saturday.
Second seed Rafael Nadal ground down German Philipp Kohlschreiber to win a tough match 7-5 6-3 4-6 6-2 in the Australian Open second round on Thursday.
The world number two acknowledges it may be some time before he can return to the level he reached last year
No matter where Rafael Nadal goes at Queen's Club, there seems to be no hiding place for the popular Spaniard.