A new documentary series about the life and career of Spanish sports and tennis icon Rafael Nadal is set to be directed by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning director Zach Heinzerling (Stolen Youth, Cutie and the Boxer, McCartney 3, 2, 1).
The series will include unprecedented access with Nadal throughout his comeback to competitive play in the 2024 season after sitting out much of 2023 due to injury.
The docuseries will also spotlight Nadal’s career, as well as his life off-the-court, showcasing never-before-seen material from Nadal’s personal archive and featuring landmark access with the tennis star, his family and his close circle of coaches and advisors.
Winner of 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open singles titles, Rafael Nadal has been playing tennis since the age of three and turned pro at 15. Nadal is considered one of the greatest players in tennis history, has excelled on all surfaces and won all of the sport’s major events, including four U.S. Open titles, two Wimbledon championships, two Olympic gold medals, and two Australian Open crowns.
The yet-to-be-titled docuseries will be produced by David Ellison, Jesse Sisgold, Jason Reed, and Jon Weinbach for Skydance Sports; and will premiere on Netflix.
“I never thought I’d do something like this, but I got a call from David Ellison and with his words together with an amazing project they put in front of my eyes it really convinced me this was the right thing to do. Everyone will be able to see how my life has been during my tennis career and particularly in this vey last year I had. It will also show how my life and my tennis career developed through the years. I am sure the final product, the docuseries, will be amazing and that it will be seen around the world. My thanks to David Ellison and his team at Skydance for creating and believing on this project. To my family and my team for allowing being filmed this past year, I know it was not easy for all of us. To my colleagues and peers who have given time to put themselves in front of a camera for some time. And thanks to the tournaments around the world that facilitated the work, it wasn’t easy.” said Rafael Nadal.