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 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.

     Presented here is one of Nadal’s player-exclusive racquets used in the early part of 2011 when he was in peak form. Ranked second in the world behind Roger Federer, Rafa won three titles that year including his sixth French Open (10th major overall). He reached the finals at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open as well, losing to Federer each time.

     The Babolat ‘AeroPro Drive GT’ racquet is customized to Nadal’s player specifications for the 2011 ATP season with a 16x19 string pattern and 4¼-inch grip size (indicated on sticker inside the throat). “Rafa” is labeled on the outer throat opposite two Babolat logos. An official white Babolat sticker labeled “Octubre.2010 R.Nadal.N.5” is affixed inside the throat. Nadal used a series of racquets at the 2011 Australian Open and 2011 Roland Garros with the same color design and sticker format. Our consignor, a devoted Nadal collector, has determined from sources within Nadal’s inner circle that this racquet was part of a Babolat frame order in October 2010, later strung and prepared for Nadal to use during the 2011 ATP season. He was also told that Nadal typically used odd-numbered racquets (N.1, N.3, N.5, etc.) at majors and even numbers at non-major ATP events.

     An accompanying authentication letter from Sports Investors documents a moderate level of wear on the frame, bumpers, strings and handle grip that is indicative of match use by Nadal. All strings are unbroken, and the white grip is intact and ready for action. Our consignor acquired this racquet privately from another collector with close ties to Nadal’s entourage. Nadal match racquets are hot commodities in the game-used market, and while a photo-match for this one has yet to be determined, it stands as a prime example from the prime of Rafa’s prolific career.