{"id":49350,"date":"2025-05-19T03:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T03:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49350"},"modified":"2025-05-19T03:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T03:04:20","slug":"a-study-confirms-what-we-already-know-rafael-nadal-is-el-mas-grande","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49350","title":{"rendered":"A Study Confirms What We Already Know: Rafael Nadal Is \u201cEl M\u00e1s Grande\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

22-time Grand Slam champion\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0<\/strong>has been voted the\u00a0most admired and greatest Spanish athlete<\/strong>\u00a0by the public, according to a recent survey conducted by\u00a0El Piponazo de Grefusa<\/em>. The campaign aimed to highlight the most iconic figures and moments in Spanish popular culture. Rafa topped the ranking with support from nearly\u00a050% of respondents<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Stephanie Lecocq\u2014Pool\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Our champ was followed by\u00a0Pau Gasol<\/strong>\u00a0(25%) and\u00a0Fernando Alonso<\/strong>\u00a0(22.1%), with other respected names such as\u00a0Andr\u00e9s Iniesta<\/strong>,\u00a0Lamine Yamal<\/strong>, and\u00a0Carolina Mar\u00edn<\/strong>\u00a0also appearing on the list. The results reaffirm the strong connection between Spanish identity and sporting excellence.<\/p>\n

In the same study, Iniesta\u2019s goal in the 2010 World Cup final was voted the most memorable cultural moment, ahead of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Rafa\u2019s Roland Garros victories, and other iconic events.<\/p>\n

As time goes by, we appreciate Rafa\u2019s achievements more and more\u2014and miss seeing him on the tennis courts.<\/strong>\u00a0A new generation of players is rising to take on the challenge, but every time a new stat flashes on screen, we\u2019re reminded that\u00a0the records Rafa set may stand for a very, very long time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

22-time Grand Slam champion\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0has been voted the\u00a0most admired and greatest Spanish athlete\u00a0by the public, according to a recent survey conducted by\u00a0El Piponazo de Grefusa. The campaign… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nA Study Confirms What We Already Know: Rafael Nadal Is \u201cEl M\u00e1s Grande\u201d - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=49350\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Study Confirms What We Already Know: Rafael Nadal Is \u201cEl M\u00e1s Grande\u201d - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"22-time Grand Slam champion\u00a0Rafael Nadal\u00a0has been voted the\u00a0most admired and greatest Spanish athlete\u00a0by the public, according to a recent survey conducted by\u00a0El Piponazo de Grefusa. 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