Behind the lens: The magic of Rafael Nadal, red clay and Roland Garros

PARIS—Since making his debut at Roland Garros in 2005, Rafael Nadal has played 116 matches. On 112 occasions, the Mallorcan has come through on the winning end.

Countless fist-pumps, leg-kicks, forehands, match-point celebrations, jubilant falls to the ground, triumphant arm-raises, tears of joy and trophy bites have long been preserved by the running shutters of photographers capturing his every emotion.

For the best in the business, Rafa, red clay and Roland Garros is unlike any combination of elements to work with when telling a story from behind the lens.

“When he wins on another surface, it's not the same. The pictures don't have the same punch,” believes Susan Mullane. “Shooting him here, it's the shadows. It's his whole game. He gives you everything and makes it worth your time.”

Mullane, who owns Camerawork USA with her husband Fred and recalls first shooting imagery of Nadal when he was 15, isn’t the only artist to feel that sentiment.

“He's a fighter. He never gives up. Every point can give you a good picture,” shares Corinne Dubreuil, whose clients include the FFT and ATP. “Emotion is really the thing I'm looking for in most of my pictures.”

Says Mutua Madrid Open photographer Mateo Villalba, “He fights for every ball until the end. His expressiveness is crucial for photographers, as he consistently offers celebrations and expressions that make the images more powerful.”

Like Mullane, Clive Brunskill has seen Nadal evolve from teenage prodigy to global icon. Through the years, the Getty Images veteran has rarely, if ever, left a match disappointed with what he has to show for his storytelling.

“Shooting him has always being exciting. I call him my lucky player. Whenever I arrive in a match, there's always something he does that I get a cool picture,” says Brunskill. “And all his little quirks just makes him really interesting to photograph.”

For freelancer Regina Cortina, the privilege of documenting the Spaniard’s legacy is what stands out since she first experienced Nadal on Chatrier.

“Being part of history has been the most special. Because when I started in tennis, Rafa already had like a million trophies,” she shares. “Everything you look at here, it screams beautiful. But capturing the title that could be his last one here, it's amazing.”

Knowing 2024 could be Nadal’s final Roland Garros spurred Villalba to make sure he didn’t miss out on experiencing his countryman in Paris.

“Photographing Rafa Nadal is always special because he is an icon, a legend, and arguably the greatest Spanish athlete of all time. This is something you always keep in mind when photographing him,” he says. “I feel thrilled and honored to have the chance to photograph him on the center court of this tournament.

From all of the 14-time champion’s poignant victories, one in particular sticks with Dubreuil. With the luxury of working alongside a team of photographers, she decided to “take some risk” in 2010 with her positioning for the match point. The decision paid off in a rewarding way.

“I was in the photographer's pit at the court level, and it was the last game. When he won, he fell on the floor just in front of me. The sequence is like 20 frames and it was perfect. It was luck. But I tried and it worked,” Dubreuil reminisced.

Brunskill, too, has witnessed his fair share of moments. When thinking about all the Nadal highs he’s helped preserve in Paris, Brunskill went back even further.

“I think it was 2006. He landed on his back and he got up and left his headband, which he'd taken off on the floor,” remembers the Brit. “And you could see the shape of his arm as the headband, the racquet and the ball and where his legs were. And he got up, it was like the Invisible Man with just the racket and headband going.”

Whether Father Time has called on Nadal in the French capital following Monday’s loss to Alexander Zverev, or he gives it one more shot in 2025, these creatives are just like the rest of us. As Mullane puts it best, “I cannot imagine Roland Garros without Rafa.”