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.