# ‘Rafa’ Filmmaker Zach Heinzerling On Earning Emmy Nom For His Rafael Nadal Series And Netting Assist From Brother-In-Law Seth Meyers

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/rafa-filmmaker-zach-heinzerling-on-earning-emmy-nom-for-his-rafael-nadal-series-and-netting-assist-from-brother-in-law-seth-meyers/
- Published: 2026-07-09T23:26:46+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-01T21:37:08+00:00
- Original publisher: Deadline
- Original article: https://deadline.com/2026/07/rafa-emmy-nomination-director-zach-heinzerling-interview-1236978921/
- Topics: Art, Culture, Entertainment, Film, Sport, Tennis, TV, UK, World

## Key points

- Netflix's *Rafa* earns a rare sports-doc Emmy nomination for director Zach Heinzerling.
- Heinzerling learned of the nod while watching tennis at Wimbledon.
- Brother-in-law Seth Meyers gave notes and support on the series.

## Summary

Zach Heinzerling, director of the Netflix series *Rafa* about tennis champion Rafael Nadal, has earned an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Fittingly, he received the news while watching a men's quarterfinal at Wimbledon, having been invited by Nadal's publicist. The nomination is notable because sports-themed documentaries rarely secure a Primetime Emmy nod, with the series drawing its drama from on-court competition rather than celebrity lifestyle.

The four-part series follows Nadal towards the end of his career as he sought one more French Open title, and explores how his career was nearly cut short by Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a congenital malformation of a bone in the midfoot that left him playing in constant pain via a custom shoe insert. Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 at Roland-Garros and two Wimbledon crowns (2008 and 2010). *Rafa* will compete against *The American Revolution* (PBS), *Mr. Scorsese* (Apple TV), *The Yogurt Shop Murders* (HBO Max) and *Sean Combs: The Reckoning* (Netflix). Heinzerling also received informal help from his brother-in-law, late-night host Seth Meyers, who watched cuts, gave notes and is credited in the "special thanks" section.

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