Rafael Nadal has had a lot of success on the tennis courts recently, and he’s picking up awards left and right for his efforts both on and off the courts.
Nadal’s trophy cabinet has never been empty, but he has added a few more trophies in recent times and is receiving recognition for what he’s been able to achieve.
There was a pervasive belief that Nadal didn’t really have it in him anymore, which is mostly tied to his aging, but he’s one of the greatest players of all time, and iconic players like him prove over and over that age is just a number.
Novak Djokovic has done it as well and will likely do even more in the future, as he doesn’t seem to be slowing down in any way, either. When it comes to Nadal, he recently collected another ESPY award. This was the third time Nadal received an ESPY for being the best tennis player, having collected it in 2014 and 2011 before.
He’s now been given the Camino Real award for the fifth time as well. This award was created about a decade ago to recognise the Spanish presence in the United States.
As a Spanish tennis player, Nadal is a wonderful ambassador for Spanish culture and the country in general. Spanish explorer Ponce de León arrived in Florida in 1513, marking the beginning of a long history of Spanish presence in the country.
Camino Real actually refers to the routes used by early Spanish explorers in their quest to reach and discover the present-day US territory.
Nadal was unanimously chosen by the Franklin-UAH Institute for the award, thanks to his tennis success as well as the work he does with the Rafael Nadal Foundation. He’s the second athlete to receive the award, the other being basketball player Pau Gasol.