Netflix brings «Rafa», the docuseries about Rafa Nadal to streaming: from victories to shocking confessions about painkillers
He could only go out during the Roland Garros the Netflix documentary on Rafa Nadal, king of the famous Parisian tournament and, more generally, of clay. The story of one of the greatest athletes of all time will be told in four episodes, from the beginning to the epilogue, including the legendary challenges with the two greatest rivals (Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer), the prestigious trophies and the immense suffering due to injuries.
The docuseries «Rafa» will finally see the light on Netflix Italy on May 29, 2026thanks to the passionate work of director and executive producer Zach Heinzerling, who declared himself very optimistic: «With Rafa’s story, triumph is a given. What surprised me was his willingness to reveal the uncertainty and vulnerability behind that greatness.”
Rafa Nadal’s extraordinary career
Twenty-two Slams (with the hard-to-beat record of 14 Roland Garros), long number one in the world and absolute protagonist of world tennis from 2005 to 2022. A career that speaks for itself, but which the series wanted to celebrate with this official synopsis: the documentary «offers an unprecedented look at the life of one of the greatest tennis players in the history of sport. The four episodes trace his journey from childhood to the final season of the ATP Tour in 2024with never-before-seen footage and exclusive access to his inner circle.”
And not just sporting results, since «Rafa goes beyond trophies and victories to foreground the human side of the champion’s career: the incessant commitment, the physical and emotional pressure and the continuous battle against one’s limits. With them testimonials from players such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and John McEnroein addition to those of his family and his team, draws a unique portrait of the Spanish champion’s legacy on and off the pitch.”
The impressive malformation of the Spaniard’s foot
Of this human side, of the suffering due to numerous injuries, various news items have appeared on the web, underlining in particular the impressive condition of Nadal’s foot, hit by the Muller-Weiss syndrome, a rare degenerative skeletal disease of the tarsuscharacterized by the death of bone cells due to lack of blood flow and the collapse of the navicular bone of the foot. Despite this painful and movement-limiting malformation, which he has always suffered from, Rafa has made longevity (and his ability to recover from serious injuries) one of his greatest strengths in being considered one of the greatest tennis players in history. What was most shocking on social media is the fact that, in the docuseries, the Spaniard shows for the time the image of the deformed foot.
Nadal’s suffering through the documentary
According to what has emerged so far from the extracts of the series, reported by EurosportNadal essentially confessed, telling several unpublished details about himself, his career and his most difficult moments. These are some of the disconcerting phrases that have emerged in recent days:
“I was choking on my own saliva, I had to see a psychiatrist.”
«In 2015 I went through a very tough period. I could no longer control what I had always managed.”
«I lived with the pain every day. I often argued with my physiotherapist. He didn’t want me to abuse anti-inflammatories, while I felt I had no alternative.”
«At a certain point I started managing myself: I decided when to take them and how many. I knew full well that I was doing something harmful to my bodybut in my head the alternative was simple: either that, or stop playing tennis.”
«I even had two intestinal perforations due to all the anti-inflammatories I took. But without those choices my career would have been completely different.”
And instead, Nadal’s career was unique precisely because of his ability to recover from injuries that seemed definitive, inexorable. So much so that, ever since his talent exploded at the age of 18, he was promised a short but glorious “sporting life”. No, in addition to glory, Rafa was able to add longevity. Let’s hope the documentary does justice to the legend.
