In the world of professional tennis players your nickname is your trademark. A good nickname will be plastered on your fan's t-shirts and be seen in the crowd at your matches. In addition to the visual impact of seeing your name, hearing your name being talked about by sportscasters and tennis aficionados can build confidence.
So what are the Top 5 Tennis Nicknames?
1. GONZO (Fernando Gonzalez) – If you’re an 80’s baby and you hear the word “Gonzo” you think of The Muppet Babies, but in today’s world the name Gonzo has been taken over by Fernando Gonzalez. With one of the most punishing forehands in tennis, I doubt anyone will be comparing Fernando to the aforementioned blue muppet for fear of being bludgeoned to death with a racquet.
2. RAFA (Rafael Nadal) – In what may be the most fun nickname to say, Rafa a.k.a Rafael Nadal, has cornered the market on tennis nicknames. If my name was Rafael I think I would want my nickname to be Ninja Turtle. Rafael “The Ninja Turtle” Nadal has a nice ring to it don’t you think?
3. A-ROD (Andy Roddick) - Is it a requirement for tennis players to have nicknames that are only one or two syllables? Okay, it’s a little unoriginal because Yankee baseball player Alex Rodriguez holds all rights to this nickname, but it still works.
4. FED (Roger Federer) – A great nickname for a great tennis player. I think Fed is the perfect nickname for Roger because he is super professional, just like an FBI Agent. A respectable tennis player has to have a respectable nickname.
5. NOLE – (Novak Djokovic) – What the heck does Nole mean anyway? In case you were wondering, Nole is a short name for Novak in Serbian much like John is for Jonathan or Mike is for Michael. Personally, I think Supernovak, similar to a Supernova, would have been an awesome nickname for Djokovic because he’s the rising star of tennis.
Feel free to comment if you think there are better tennis nicknames out there than the one’s above.