After skipping Wimbledon to focus on the Paris Olympics, 38-year-old Rafael Nadal continues to battle his body for one last hurrah. As difficult as it may be for fans to watch this all-time great struggle to stay healthy late in his career, it’s completely on brand for the hard-nosed Spaniard to keep fighting until the very end. Who will ever equal Rafa’s athleticism, perseverance, intensity, and desire to compete on the tennis court? We know one thing. No player will come close to achieving Nadal’s level of dominance on clay with 14 French Open titles. His 22 Grand Slams overall are second only to Novak Djokovic on the men’s all-time list.

     Offered in this lot is Nadal’s 2010 U.S. Open tournament worn Nike warm-up jacket from his first title at Flushing Meadows. In an epic final against 3rd seed Djokovic, top seed Nadal defeated his longtime nemesis in four sets (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2) to complete the coveted Career Grand Slam and win his ninth major overall. It was Rafa’s third consecutive major title (after winning at Roland Garros and Wimbledon) during a dominant 2010 season in which he held the world #1 ranking all year and finished with a 72-10 record.

     The black and gray Nike player-exclusive zip-up jacket has a large Nike swoosh sewn on the left chest and Nadal’s “Raging Bull” player logo appears on the lower right side, both embroidered in fluorescent yellow. It has a well-worn “Custom Athlete” white tag inside the collar and a “FA101204 CUSTM” coded flag tag inside the left lower side adjacent to the wash instructions. The uniformity of the design makes for a very difficult photo-match, but it is the same exact style Nadal wore during the U.S. Open trophy presentation and earlier in the tournament based on images found online. This jacket displays excellent wear with stretching, pilling, and evidence of being laundered multiple times. It was procured by our consignor from a member of Nadal’s inner circle shortly after the U.S. Open Final (along with his black shirt photo-matched to the Final vs. Djoker in Lot 14).

     For Nadal, his 2010 triumph at Flushing Meadows was arguably his most significant major championship, cementing his legacy at just 24 years old as one of the greatest ever. To this day, only eight men have ever won all four majors. Includes full authentication paperwork from Sports Investors.