Rafael Nadal

One of the world's top-ranked tennis players for over a decade, Spanish-born Rafael Nadal amassed a staggering amount of titles, including the record for most French Open wins, a 2008 Olympic gold medal and a Career Golden Slam, all before reaching his 30th year. A fast, aggressive athlete with a formidable serve and topspin, Nadal's style served him well against some of the best names in the game, including fellow No. 1 players Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, with whom he enjoyed some of the most thrilling court rivalries of the 2000s, including storied matches at Wimbledon, the French Open and U.S. Open. On occasion, Nadal's strength and tenacity, especially on the clay courts that yielded some of his greatest wins, actually hindered his play through recurring injuries that forced him to drop out of significant matches and in one case, yield his No. 1 status to Federer. These setbacks had a deleterious effect on Nadal's career in 2011 and 2012, resulting in his drop from No. 1 to No. 4 in the world, and he spent much of 2012 and beyond rebuilding his standing on the international circuit one match at a time. Nadal's intense court presence and exceptional body of titles and accolades, which placed him in the company of such legendary figures as Federer, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg in regard to record numbers of wins, cemented his position as one of the most accomplished figures in modern world tennis.