Netflix to Serve Up Rafael Nadal Docuseries

Rafael Nadal’s career is getting the documentary treatment. 

Netflix is planning to serve up a docuseries about the 38-year-old Spanish former professional tennis player.

Rafael NadalA month after revealing his retirement from the sport, Nadal has signed up for a series with the streamer, produced by Skydance Sports.

The untitled series joins Break Point, which ran for two seasons on Netflix before it was canceled, as well as its upcoming Carlos Alcaraz: My Way series.

It comes nine months after Nadal and Alcaraz went head-to-head for The Netflix Slam, a live event exhibition match.

The series will spotlight Nadal’s career as well as his life off-the-court, showcasing never-before-seen material from Nadal’s personal archive and featuring full access with the star, his family and his close circle of coaches and advisors including during his comeback to competitive play in the 2024 season after sitting out much of 2023 due to injury.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open singles titles and is only one of three men (alongside Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic) to win a Career Grand Slam – all four majors and an Olympic gold medal.

He also won all of the sport’s major events, including four U.S. Open titles, two Wimbledon championships, two Olympic gold medals, and two Australian Open crowns.

The docuseries will be directed by Zach Heinzerling.

Rafael Nadal said, “I never thought I’d do something like this, but I got a call from David Ellison and with his words together with an amazing project they put in front of my eyes it really convinced me this was the right thing to do. Everyone will be able to see how my life has been during my tennis career and particularly in this vey last year I had. It will also show how my life and my tennis career developed through the years. I am sure the final product, the docuseries, will be amazing and that it will be seen around the world. My thanks to David Ellison and his team at Skydance for creating and believing on this project. To my family and my team for allowing being filmed this past year, I know it was not easy for all of us. To my colleagues and peers who have given time to put themselves in front of a camera for some time. And thanks to the tournaments around the world that facilitated the work, it wasn’t easy.”

“Rafael Nadal stands as one of the most influential and greatest figures in the history of sports. We are excited to present his remarkable story to our members, offering an intimate glimpse into his journey to cement his legacy to become the legend he is today,” added Diego Ávalos, Netflix’s VP of Content for Spain, Portugal, and the Nordics. “Partnering with our friends at Skydance to celebrate Nadal’s unequivocal career is a true honor.”

“Rafael Nadal is truly one of the greatest players and inspirations in the history of tennis,” said David Ellison, Founder and CEO, Skydance.  “Beyond that, he is a friend and working with Rafa, Zach, and Netflix to tell his story is both an honor and a privilege.”

Marta Among Finalists for National Women’s Soccer League’s MVP Award

Marta is in the running for the National Women’s Soccer League’s top individual prize.

The 38-year-old Brazilian soccer star headlines a group of five finalists for the NWSL’s MVP award.

MartaMarta, who turns 39 in February, enjoyed her best year as a pro since joining the Orlando Pride in 2017. She registered nine goals and an assist this year.

Marta will face off against her Pride colleague Barbra Banda, Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga, Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith for the MVP award.

Banda and Chawinga, who are both in their first year in the league, were locked into a heated race for the Golden Boot throughout most of the season until Chawinga went on a record scoring run after the Olympics, scoring in seven of eight games. Banda finished the regular season with 13 goals.

Eighteen of the 24 finalists for awards are from the top four teams in the league, mirroring a season in which all four top seeds advanced to the semifinals this past weekend, and fourth and fifth place were separated by 16 points in the regular season.

The Orlando Pride lead all teams with seven nominations across the six awards.

Marta is also nominated for the newly created Midfielder of the Year award against North Carolina’s Ashley Sanchez, among others.

Orlando head coach Seb Hines is the favorite to win Coach of the Year after the Pride set a new points record (60) while going unbeaten through the first 23 games of the season and winning the Shield.

Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune leads the Rookie of the Year chase after tying Tobin Heath‘s single-season assist record. Bethune registered 10 assists before sustaining a season-ending meniscus tear while throwing out a first pitch a Washington Nationals game. She was participating in the ceremony after earning an Olympic gold medal with the USWNT.

The final round of voting uses a weighted scale of players (40%), owners/GMs/coaches (25%), media (25%) and fans (10%).

2024 NWSL awards finalists

Most Valuable Player: Barbra Banda (ORL), Temwa Chawinga (KC), Marta (ORL), Trinity Rodman (WAS), Sophia Smith (POR)

Defender of the Year: Naomi Girma (SD), Kaleigh Kurtz (NC), Tara McKeown (WAS), Emily Sams (ORL), Kylie Strom (ORL)

Goalkeeper of the Year: Ann-Katrin Berger (GFC), Mandy Haught (UTA), Anna Moorhouse (ORL)

Midfielder of the Year: Croix Bethune (WAS), Vanessa DiBernardo (KC), Lo’eau LaBonta (KC), Marta (ORL), Ashley Sanchez (NC)

Rookie of the Year: Croix Bethune (WAS), Claire Hutton (KC), Ally Sentnor (UTA)

Coach of the Year: Juan Carlos Amorós (GFC), Vlatko Andonovski (KC), Seb Hines (ORL)

Rafael Espinoza to Fight Robeisy Ramirez in Rematch in December

Rafael Espinoza is ready for a rematch…

The 30-year-old Mexican professional boxer, who has held the World Boxing Organization featherweight title since December 2023, is set to fight Robeisy Ramirez on December 7 in Phoenix.

Rafael Espinosa,Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) has fought once since he captured the WBO title from Ramirez, a fourth-round TKO victory over Sergio Chirino in July.

He is ESPN‘s No. 2 featherweight.

Ramirez, 30, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, rebounded from the loss with a seventh-round TKO in June vs. Brandon Benitez.

Ramirez (14-2, 9 KOs) is ESPN‘s No. 8 boxer at 126 pounds.

Rafael Nadal Named to Spain’s Davis Cup Finals Roster Alongside Carlos Alcaraz

Rafael Nadal is preparing to represent Spain once again…

The 38-year-old Spanish tennis star, who represented Spain at the 2024 Paris Games, has been named to Spain’s roster for the Davis Cup finals alongside Carlos Alcaraz.

Rafael NadalThe announcement raises the possibility of a renewal of Nadal and Alcaraz’s “Nadalcaraz” doubles partnership from the Paris Olympics.

Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, hasn’t competed anywhere since the Olympics, where he lost in the second round of singles to longtime rival Novak Djokovic and paired with Alcaraz to get to the quarterfinals of men’s doubles before exiting against Americans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram.

Nadal then withdrew from the US Open and the Laver Cup while still dealing with health issues that’ve limited him to competing only sparingly over the past two seasons.

Alcaraz earned the men’s singles titles at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July to raise his career Slam total to four at the age of 21.

Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup finals, an eight-team event November 19-24 in Malaga, Spain.

The other opening matchups are: defending champion Italy vs. Argentina; the United States vs. Australia; and Germany vs. Canada.

Victor Montalvo Earns Breaking Bronze at 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesVictor Montalvo is breaking his way to the Olympic podium.

The 30-year-old Mexican American b-boy, known mononymously as Victor, claimed the bronze in the debut of the Breaking dancesport competition at the 2024 Paris Games.

Victor MontalvoVictor, the highest ranked American male breaker in the world, defeated won the battle for bronze 3-0 against Japan’s Shigekix at La Concorde in Paris.

Victor’s win comes just after he lost to France’s Dany Dann in the semifinal round, while Canada’s Phil Wizard beat out Shigekix.

Montalvo initially finished at the top of group A and took out Amir of Kazakhstan 3-0 in the quarterfinal knockout round.

Victor MontalvoThe Paris Olympics‘ breaking competitions on Friday and Saturday saw 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls — the colloquial term for a breaker, or breakdancer — battle against each other one-on-one as a panel of judges scored the matches based on six different criteria: creativity, personality, technique, variety, performativity and musicality.

Montalvo, who is originally from Florida, previously opened up about why he is passionate about breaking in an interview for Team USA, explaining that he first picked up the sport from his cousin when he was just 9 years old.

“It was something just so amazing,” he said. “I just loved the music and the way it made me feel. I’m a super shy kid, so for me it was perfect because you don’t need to talk to anyone. You just need the dance floor and yourself. So it was like a really awesome art form slash sport for me.”

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Earns Historic Medal in 100m Hurdles at the 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesJasmine Camacho-Quinn has given Puerto Rico its first Olympic medal of the 2024 Paris Games.

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican track & field athlete came in third in the women’s 100m hurdles at the 2024 Summer Olympics with a time of 12.36 to claim the bronze medal, the first medal for Puerto Rico.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn In the process, Camacho-Quinn is the only Puerto Rican athlete to win two Olympic medals.

She previously claimed the gold in the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Jasmine Camacho-Quinn This year’s race was a close one among the top three finishers…

Team USA’s Masai Russell claimed the gold with a time of 12.33, while Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France won the silver after finishing the race in a time of 12.34.

Camacho-Quinn was a two-time individual NCAA Division I champion.

Colombia’s Yeison Lopez Earns Weightlifting Silver in Olympic Debut at 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesYeison Lopez is celebrating an Olympic medal-winning performance.

In his Olympic debut, the 24-year-old Colombian weightlifter claimed the silver at the 2024 Paris Games on Friday in the Men’s 89KG Weightlifting final.

Yeison Lopez,Lopez had a final core of 390 kg.

Lopez came in second behind Bulgaria’s Karlos Nasar, who lifted 224kg in the clean and jerk to earn a new world record. He also earned a world record in the overall lift with 404 kg.

Italy’s Antonino Pizzolatto won bronze with 384 kg.

López went from selling candy to earn bus fare to the top of world sports.

Lopez had previously placed seventh in the overall in his world championships debut in 2023 (96kg).

At the youth and junior level he was undefeated in the overall competition from his debut in 2015 to 2021, winning multiple world and Pan American titles.

Spain’s Men’s Kayak Four Team Claims Bronze at 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesSaul Craviotto, Carlos Arevalo, Marcus Cooper and Rodrigo Germade have sprinted their way to an Olympic medal.

The Spanish sprint kayakers finished in third place in the Men’s Kayak Four 500M final at the 2024 Paris Games on Thursday to earn the bronze medal.

Saul Craviotto, Carlos Arevalo, Marcus Cooper & Rodrigo Germade, SpainCraviotto, Arevalo, Cooper and Germade finished the race with a time of 1:20:05.

Germany’s team finished with a time of 1:19:80 to claim the gold; Australia’s team finished in 1:19:84 to claim the silver.

It’s Craviotto’s sixth career Olympic medal dating back to the 2008 Beijing Games. It’s Arevalo and Germade’s second Olympic medal, while it’s Cooper’s third Olympic medal.

Erislandy Alvarez Borges Earns Cuba’s First & Only Boxing Gold at the 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesErislandy Alvarez Borges has defeated a hometown favorite to win gold at the 2024 Paris Games.

In the much-anticipated 63.5kg boxing final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the 24-year-old Cuban boxer beat France’s Sofiane Oumiha 3-2 to earn gold in his Olympic debut in front of a packed crowd at the iconic Roland-Garros Stadium.

Erislandy Alvarez BorgesThis marks the first and only boxing gold medal for Cuba at Paris 2024, a former Olympic powerhouse in the sport.

“I am very happy. He [Oumiha] is a very strong rival,” Alvarez said afterwards. “I had a lot of changes since the world championships. Thank God I got the gold medal which is what we promised, for me and for Cuba.

Erislandy Alvarez Borges “All I’m thinking now is rest so I can have time to keep bringing gold medals back to Cuba.”

The two medalists advanced out of the semi-final rounds on Sunday, which saw Oumiha beat Canada’s Wyatt Sanford 4-1 to advance to the final. The second semi-final saw Alvarez beat Georgia’s Lasha Guruli 5-0. Both Sanford and Guruli were awarded bronze medals.

This is the first Olympic Games for Alvarez, who previously trained as a gymnast before committing to boxing.

He dedicated the gold medal to those who helped him become an Olympic champion, including “my grandmother, who sadly passed away, and I dedicate it to my country and to my old teacher who told me that I could achieve great things.”

Oumiha was under an incredible amount of pressure competing at home in France. On Sunday, after advancing to the final over Sanford, he said, “The wound of Tokyo [2020] is still there. It was dramatic for me. I was No.1 in the world ranking and I lost in the first round.

“The wound is not healed. There is also Rio [2016], where I lost in the final. I know what it’s like to lose a final, but I also know what it is like to win one.”

Oumiha was disappointed in Wednesday’s loss to Alvarez. “I am so disappointed as I wanted the gold medal,” he said afterwards. “The fight didn’t go the way that I wanted.”

Augusto Akio Earns Bronze in Men’s Park Skateboarding Competition at 2024 Paris Games

2024 Paris GamesAugusto Akio has skated his way to an Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 23-year-old Brazilian skateboarder won bronze in the men’s park skateboarding competition on Wednesday at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Augusto Akio

Akio, who began to stand out on the national skateboarding scene when he was just 11 years old, ended the finals with a score of 91.85.

 

Australia’s Keegan Palmer took home the gold with a score of 93.11; USA’s Tom Schaar won the silver with a score of 92.23.

 

During the competition, Akio balanced his skateboard on his chin to the amazement of the crowd.

 

Earlier in the competition, Akio narrowly qualified for the men’s skateboard park final after scoring 88.98 on his final preliminary round run.

 

Akio practiced his juggling skills on the sidelines in-between runs.