Tennis fans had to face a huge disappointment when Rafael Nadal announced that he would be skipping the Australian Open because of an injury. As the fans were craving to hear from their favorite tennis legend, he recently showed up to talk about the status of his preparation. While the tennis star is out of the tennis scene, he is currently gearing up to hit a different ground.
The electric boat championship E1 has been gaining immense popularity since Rafael Nadal joined in as an owner of Team Rafa. While the team members eagerly waited for guidance, the tennis legend whispered the secret behind his state before every match.
Rafael Nadal exposes his E1 team to obvious tension before every match
Tennis legend Rafael Nadal, now the proud owner of an E1 racing team, has been in discussions since a video started to air on social media. The video, presenting Rafa having a conversation with his team, also brings a revelation about his pre-race feelings. Quite opposite to what everyone must have thought, Nadal confessed that it is hard to stay calm before a match.
He mentioned, “It’s no secret. Nobody’s calm! I never been calm in any match of my life.” Along with admitting to the normalcy of losing calm during a competition, the Spaniard also highlighted the bright side of it. “At the end, when you have that nerve, that adrenaline, I think that helps to play better. And in this case, to race, better,” he said.
As the video became successful in giving fans a glimpse of what Rafael Nadal is cooking right now, it is sure that more and more attention will be driven to the electric boat event with the Spaniard being a part of it.
While everyone was satisfied by Rafael Nadal’s response to feeling tensed before a match, they seemed to be enjoying the Q&A. Being collectively curious about the bright colors that the Spaniard is usually seen in, a team member inquired about the reason behind it.
“In my outfits, on a tennis court, I like to play with bright colors. Colors with energy, I can’t wait to see the boat in real,” said Rafa, expressing his eagerness to see the boat in bright orange. As the tennis star is set to make an entry into the world of E1 racing, fans are excited to see how his team performs there.
Rafael Nadal’s 2007 French Open-winning racket, Babolat AeroPro Drive, was recently sold at an online auction for $118,206. It has become the third most valuable racket after the Babolat Pure Aero from his 2022 Australian Open-winning run ($139,700) and Billie Jean King’s ‘Battle of the Sexes’ racket ($125,000).
Since turning pro in 2001, Nadal has always used Babolat as his go-to racket. The Spaniard’s most famous racket was the Babolat AeroPro Drive, which he employed from 2005 to 2015. The specs and design of the racket ensured that he could heave through balls with loads of topspin, contributing to his dominance on clay courts.
The 2007 edition of the French Open saw the 22-time Grand Slam winner in tenacious form, as he dropped only one set en route his third title in Paris. He defeated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in straight sets before getting the better of Roger Federer in four sets in the final.
With such big names on his list of vanquished opponents, it was hardly surprising that Rafael Nadal’s Babolat AeroPro Drive racket fetched $118,206 at the Prestige Memorabilia’s The Tennis Auction. The racket was showcased at the Australian Tennis Museum before going under the hammer on January 29, as per Marca.
For academic purposes, here is a table listing the players that the Spaniard beat during Roland Garros in 2007:
Rafael Nadal’s 2007 Babolat racket more valuable than Novak Djokovic’s 2016 Roland Garros-winning Head
Novak Djokovic’s 2016 French Open-winning Head Speed Graphene Touch PT113B was also sold at an auction nearly two months ago. The Serb’s racket raked in $107,482, which is about $10,000 less than the price at which his archrival’s Babolat racket from 2007 was sold this week.
ovak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the 2016 Shanghai Rolex Masters
Novak Djokovic’s campaign for his maiden Roland Garros title saw him beat top players such as Roberto Bautista Agut, Tomas Berdych, Dominic Thiem and Andy Murray.
Billie Jean King’s Wilson racket from her famous 1973 ‘Battle of the Sexes’ encounter against Bobby Riggs remains the second most expensive racket to date, fetching a price tag of $125,000 at New York’s Bonhams auction house. The American is one of the greatest players in history, having won 12 Grand Slam titles in singles, 16 in women’s doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles.
Tennis could have a new Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal-style rivalry
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will fight for future Grand Slams in a new rivalry like Federer against Nadal, a former Wimbledon champion has claimed. The Italian claimed his first Major title at the Australian Open at the age of 22. And the world No.4 was immediately congratulated on social media by his friend and double Grand Slam winner Alcaraz – the only other man under 25 to have won a Major.
A new rivalry like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could be breaking through
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal enjoyed a decade-long battle at the top of the rankings until Novak Djokovic overtook them both. And the Serb, who turns 37 in May, insisted he still has the drive to add to his male record haul of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.
But the future is the next generation with Alcaraz only 20. And Aussie legend Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002, said: “I think this is going to be one of the great rivalries moving forward, the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry. Potentially like the Roger-Rafa one we saw for so many years as well. And it’s intriguing. Both game styles are slightly different, their upbringings are different as well, so I’m really excited. I think tennis needs these new guys coming through.”
The two-time Major champion added: “There’s been plenty of talk about Sinner for three or four years, that he’s a possible Grand Slam champion and world No.1 but Alcaraz came out of nowhere and really took that from him. I think that really spurred Jannik on to try and find a way to be able to win these titles.”
Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open title
Asked if Sinner had been spurred on by Alcaraz, the Italian’s coach Darren Cahill said: “Hell, yeah! Absolutely. There’s no question seeing the young players come through and having success drives each and every one of them. Carlos has trail blazed for a lot of young players. We’re thankful for that.”
“I do think Jannik can become a superstar. I think this sport at the moment has a few superstars. I think Carlos is very similar to Jannik in both the way they play with the excitement level they bring to the game, and their personalities and their likability. Both guys are incredibly alike off the court. They both like each other. They both have a friendly rivalry.”
Sinner, who has strong family support like the Spaniard, said: “Obviously I’m really happy about what Carlos has done and what he is doing. When we play, it’s always a good matchup, but at the moment we also have to say that he is further than I am.”
The Italian leads their head-to-head encounters 4-3 and his performances Down Under showed he has made big progress in his game since losing the Wimbledon semi-final.
Adriano Panatta, the last Italian male Grand Slam winner at the 1976 French Open, told Gazzetta dello Sport: “Sinner has done crazy things in Melbourne. What will happen now? He will now win a lot more Slams. I am sure that he is now the best player in the world. Forget the rankings. In the last three months, he has made a great leap forward and he seems like a different player. He has become a man.”
Before he was a world champion, Rafael Nadal was known as a “good person”. Accepting the offer to become Saudi Arabia’s tennis ambassador has shattered the ideal many in the country had of the player.
“Is it clear now who Rafa Nadal is?”
It’s a question that fans of the tennis star have been asking on social media, after the announcement that Spain’s favorite sporting son has inked a deal to become a ‘tennis ambassador’ for Saudi Arabia.
Nadal signed an agreement with the oil-rich Arab country to “promote the development of the sport”, but more than his actions, it was the statement he made that left Spaniards speechless: “Wherever you look, you can see growth and progress here”.
“Money buys everything?” supporters asked at first, criticizing the lack of human rights in the Gulf State. Now the debate has moved on from social networks to office corridors, cafeterias and WhatsApp groups.
“I read the news at night and thought I was so tired I must have misread it, but the next day I saw it was true. The first thing I thought was: why did he sell himself? He’s got a lot of money and he’s won everything, he didn’t need it,” Jaime, from Madrid, whose idol has always been Nadal, told Euronews.
“It was such a hard blow that we could start counting the years from this moment: the first year since Rafa was sold,” he adds.
Newspapers have also been filled with letters lamenting Nadal’s decision. “I don’t understand the need to sell out like this, but I don’t blame him either: when it comes to large sums of money, dignity and honor disappear,” wrote Pablo Erskine from Alcorcón in El País.
“Is it really worth sacrificing principles for a few million more?”
Gonzalo discussed this with his colleagues during a coffee break at the bank he works for in London. “It’s hard to be objective because for me Nadal is God, but it’s clear that this is not the best thing he could have done”.
There are those who wonder why Spain’s most popular sports star has made this decision and there are those who defend their idol even in the biggest controversies.
“I don’t know if the agreement is good for his image, but I think he is doing it for the development of tennis and his academy, not for the money. I still believe in Nadal’s values and principles,” says Jorge, a Spaniard living in Germany who says he has never missed a single Nadal match.
Spain’s Rafa Nadal returns the ball during his match against Jack Sock of the United States during their match at the Italian Open tennis tournament, in Rome.
Tempted by petrodollars
Rafa Nadal is not the first, nor will he be the last sportsman to work for Saudi Arabia, which is why the Spanish reaction may come as a surprise. All the more so after keeping quiet when other athletes signed contracts with the Arab country.
Another Spaniard, Jon Rham, joined Saudi Arabia’s government-funded golf league with a contract estimated to be worth more than $500 million.
Beyond the country’s borders, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is set to pocket €200 million for promoting Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup, according to media reports.
Very little information has emerged about Nadal’s deal with the Saudis, let alone the amount of money involved. All that has been made public is that it is “a long-term commitment to help grow the sport and inspire a new generation of tennis players in Saudi Arabia”.
The statement from the Saudi Tennis Federation also said that a new Rafa Nadal Academy would be opened in the country and that the player would spend some time there.
Saudi fans holds pictures of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, left, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Nadal’s reputation as a role model
To understand the stir caused by Nadal’s Saudi deal it is necessary to understand his relationship with Spain. There are many who call him “Spain’s son” or “the model man”.
But how is it that (almost) all Spaniards like Nadal?
His head of communications, Benito Pérez-Barbadillo, gave the answer to the Diario de Cádiz newspaper two years ago.
“Rafa is the way people see him. He is a very normal guy and a very good person. I think Rafa is so popular because he is very authentic, without any double standards and he is not an artificial person,” he said.
The tennis player has always been seen as the boy from Manacor, a town on the island of Mallorca, who does not boast about his victories or have an eccentric attitude. A humble and generous champion who fights defeats with more work and discipline.
In 2017, in an interview with El País newspaper, Nadal said that in terms of managing his wealth, “maybe it would be better to go to another country with more favorable conditions, but where I am happy is in Spain, with my family and friends. In another country I would have twice as much money, but I would be half as happy. Money doesn’t buy happiness.”
Before he was a world champion, Rafa Nadal was known as a “good person”. Accepting the Saudi offer has shattered the ideal that many in the country had of the great tennis player.
Rafael Nadal, of Spain, listens to a question at a press conference ahead of the Rio Open ATP in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014
What is Saudi Arabia after?
Since 2021, the country is estimated to have invested $6.3 billion in sports deals, although the figure is likely to be much higher, but the lack of transparency makes it difficult to know the total.
The authoritarian regime invests millions of dollars in sports to project an image of modernity.
“It is trying to promote the image of an open and developed country according to Western standards, but it is still a country that is accused of not respecting human rights,” David Hernández, professor of international relations at the Complutense University of Madrid, told Euronews.
The use of petrodollars serves Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s strategy, his “Vision 2030”, launched eight years ago with the intention of diversifying the Saudi economy away from its dependence on oil.
The prince claimed that sport had contributed to a 1% increase in his country’s GDP and hoped to see further growth in the sector.
“The Saudis have realized that the international energy markets are changing, more and more renewable energy is being promoted, and so they are trying to transform their economy,” he added.
Hernández believes that Saudi Arabia is trying to achieve several goals. The first is a show of strength by signing big stars, demonstrating that it has the capacity and resources to organize whatever it wants.
The second is to send a message that it is a country that is present and open to contact with other cultures. And the final objective is to become a media powerhouse in the world.
“It is a similar model to the World Cup in Qatar. When it was organized, there were many accusations about the lack of respect for human rights and workers’ conditions, but in the end, with the World Cup, people only talked about football,” says the expert.
“The Saudi regime wants to project the image it wants the world to see of its country. It is a very studied and calculated image.”
Rafael Nadal has entered the Qatar Open in February after missing the Australian Open with a hip injury.
Nadal, 37, returned from a year-long absence at the Brisbane International but then opted to return to his native Spain rather than compete in Melbourne.
The Qatar Open is due to take place between 19 and 24 February.
Also set to play in the ATP 250 event are Andy Murray, reigning champion Daniil Medvedev and world number five Andrey Rublev.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, won his first two matches in Brisbane in straight sets but then suffered the injury in his quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson.
He said a scan had shown a micro tear on a muscle but not in the same area as his previous long-term hip injury.
He said in May, after being forced to miss the French Open for the first time in 19 years, that 2024 would “probably” be the final year of his career, meaning he may have already played his last Australian Open, a tournament he has won twice.
Rafael Nadal suffered yet another injury setback just before the start of the Australian Open.
Rafael Nadal has been urged to call time on his career by Express Sport readers after his latest injury setback ruled him out of the Australian Open. The Spaniard made a brief return to the court at the Brisbane International earlier this month but suffered a small muscle tear against Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals.
Rafael Nadal has been urged to retire now and steer clear of making another comeback
Nadal has barely played over the last 12 months and is expected to retire at the end of this year, with his constant injury problems threatening to derail his farewell campaign. It seems that many fans would not be too upset to see Nadal go now, rather than delaying his retirement for another few months in light of his fitness issues.
In our latest tennis poll, 57 per cent of voters said that Nadal should hang up his racket immediately and steer clear of making another comeback when his latest injury heals. He will be hoping to recover in time for the French Open, where he has won the majority of his Grand Slam titles, but there is no guarantee that he will be in a position to compete for the top prize.
Sixty seven per cent of voters said they do not expect Nadal to win this year’s French Open title, with just 33 per cent of Express Sport readers backing him to get the job done at Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic will almost certainly be the favourite even if Nadal manages to recover in time, with the Serb having looked almost unstoppable in the absence of his Spanish rival.
The Spaniard will be hoping to recover in time to feature at this year’s French Open
In terms of Nadal’s performance in Brisbane, 42 per cent of voters were pleasantly surprised and said that he was better than they were expecting him to be. Another 48 per cent of respondents said that Nadal met expectations but did not exceed them, while just 10 per cent thought that he did worse than anticipated.
It remains to be seen how Nadal will fare this year, with the 37-year-old needing to recover from his latest injury setback before worrying about anything else. Alex Corretja recently told Express Sport that he is expecting Nadal to get back on the court as soon as possible, given the extra motivation of playing at the French Open for what could be the final time.
The Spaniard has had more than his fair share of injury problems over the years
“It’s obvious that on hard courts for the joints it’s a little bit risky because it’s a little bit harder,” said Corretja. “But as soon as he is ready to practice, we will see him. He will say again: ‘Okay, I’m getting back to practice’, and he will put a small goal to go.
“If he’s ready, maybe he’s ready to go to some of the South American tournaments on clay like Buenos Aires or so. But for that, he needs to be healthy. If he’s healthy, he would like to be on court as soon as possible. I don’t think he’s going to wait for the clay-court season because he’s been out for such a long time. I don’t think he can wait in his academy just practicing.”
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal caught up at the Spanish star’s tennis academy recently, but while the two are now great friends, they were also fierce rivals.
Rafael Nadal once had a heated exchange with his biggest rival, Roger Federer, over the packed tennis calendar. This happened at the Australian Open in 2012, despite their long-standing friendship formed through years of on-court battles.
While both dominated men’s singles for nearly two decades alongside Novak Djokovoic, their luck at the Australian Open has been quite different. Before his 2022 victory, Nadal had only won the tournament once in 2009, while Federer clinched the title six times between 2004 and 2018.
Nadal’s frustrations seemed to peak in 2012 when he voiced concerns about the number of games players are expected to play on the ATP Tour, which he believed was affecting their fitness levels. He was particularly annoyed at Federer for not supporting him on this issue, which led to a fiery outburst from Nadal after Federer refused to comment on the matter during a pre-tournament press conference that year.
Clearly upset, he aimed his anger at his long-time rival, criticizing Federer for his perceived indifference. Nadal said: “For him it’s good to say nothing. Everything positive. ‘It’s all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman,’ and the rest can burn themselves.
Novak Djokovic leads the way in men’s Grand Slam titles with 24
“Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions,” he continued, standing firm on his stance. “I love the game and there are a lot of things I’m grateful for. The game has allowed me to lead a fantastic lifestyle. But to finish your career with pain all over your body, is that a positive?”
Answering his own question, Nadal expressed concern for his future health: “No. Maybe [Federer] has got a super body and he’ll finish his career like a rose. Neither myself, nor [Andy] Murray, nor [Novak] Djokovic are going to finish our careers like a rose.
Highlighting the differences between himself, Murray and Djokovic compared to Federer, he took one last swipe at his rival for his lack of support on the issue: “We’re not like him [Federer] where it’s effortless to play. For all of us, it’s a battle.”
As their careers blossomed, it became clear that the initial dispute between the tennis legends was short-lived. They even partnered in the Laver Cup for Federer’s last professional match in 2022 and more recently, Federer was a visitor to Nadal’s academy in Spain.
The once-rival duo who clashed 40 times in thrilling battles atop the men’s game ended their rivalry on a united note.
Speaking about their friendship evolution, Nadal said: “We have never had any big issues and always respected each other and our families too. But our personal relationship has got better and better over the years, and we approach life in a similar way.”
Federer and Nadal’s Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry is legendary. The pair played 40 tour-level matches, with some of the clashes among the best in the sport’s history.
Nadal made his comeback in Brisbane in what he called “a very positive week”. But the 37-year-old was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to a micro tear in a muscle.
Nick Kyrgios was in the Eurosport commentary booth as Novak Djokovic opened his 2024 Australian Open campaign against Dino Prizmic. Kyrgios spoke about the challenges of facing world No. 1 Djokovic and how he compares to legendary rivals Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Kyrgios also reflected on Nadal’s comeback and why he thinks this is “definitely his last year on the tour”.
Nick Kyrgios has compared the different challenges of facing Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – and why he “would have been a Wimbledon champion” if had faced anyone but Djokovic in the 2022 final.
As he took to the Eurosport commentary booth for the first time to watch defending champion Djokovic play at the Australian Open, Kyrgios divulged just what it is like to play the world No. 1 – and how he stacks up against his legendary rivals.
Djokovic holds the record for the most Grand Slams won in the men’s game at 24 – two ahead of Nadal and four clear of the retired Federer.
But despite Djokovic’s obvious Grand Slam success, Kyrgios believes most players would actually prefer to face him than Federer or Nadal.
“Rafa has that big game style and that physicality, big leftie, you know his patterns but you can’t do anything about it. And Roger Federer could make you feel so bad on the court, shrinking the court, taking time away from you, you never feel settled,” the Australian said.
“At least with Novak you know you’re going to have those exchanges, those long gruelling exchanges. You know you’re going to get warm, know you’re going to get into it.
“Then there’s the problem of trying to work out how to beat him, he’s like a ping-pong machine.”
Kyrgios knows full well what it is like to go toe to toe with Djokovic in a Slam, having faced him in the final of Wimbledon in 2022.
On that day, the Australian managed to win the first set and looked as if he could pull off an upset, only for Djokovic to roar back into the match to take it in four.
“I lost a Grand Slam final against the best to ever do it,” said Kyrgios.
“I joked that if it had been anyone else that day, Nick Kyrgios would have been a Wimbledon champion.”
As for Nadal, he is missing from the field in Melbourne after being forced to pull out with a minor muscle tear, sustained in his first tournament back after taking the vast majority of 2023 off due to a hip injury.
It’s a blow not just for the Spaniard, but for everyone waiting to see if Nadal still had what it takes to compete at the very top of the men’s game.
Kyrgios is currently out with injury having played just once in 2023, and reflected on the challenges Nadal is facing in his comeback.
“That’s the fear with all athletes, you come back and put in the work – and a great champion like Rafa, puts in a year of work, comes back a bit early and then re-aggravates something that’s been keeping him out,” said Kyrgios.
“Honestly, I hope he stays and plays because we all know how much he means to the sport and how much he entertains when he plays, with his physicality.
“Realistically, I would say this is definitely his last year on the tour and I think his eyes will be set on the French Open and that’s about it.”
Rafael Nadal has claimed that Novak Djokovic has not needed to evolve his game as much as him or Roger Federer because he has not suffered as many injuries.
The Spaniard believes his Serbian contemporary has developed his game due to the demands of his rivals rather than his physical issues and that this is “a difference.”
Nadal has withdrawn from the 2024 Australian Open, which will begin in Melbourne on Sunday January 14, due to a hip muscle injury that surfaced during his comeback at last week’s Brisbane International.
The 37-year-old was beaten by world No 55 Jordan Thompson at the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane on Friday in a three-set quarter-final marathon lasting three hours and 24 minutes.
“Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news,” Nadal explained.
“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in five sets matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.
In an interview with El Pais, Nadal discussed how the legendary trio have all reinvented themselves as players throughout their careers.
“We have all reinvented ourselves, that’s why there has been this intense rivalry: we always surprised each other,” the Mallorcan said.
“Djokovic as well, but with a difference compared to the two of us: he has evolved his game—champions always do—but he hasn’t needed to evolve it as much as we have.
“He hasn’t suffered as many injuries. The only thing that has demanded him to improve his game has been his rivals, not physical issues. That’s a difference.
“Federer doesn’t get injured much either, but he had a rival, which was me, who punished his only weakness. And I could do that because I was left-handed. If I had been right-handed, I couldn’t have punished it.”
Nadal also suggested his matches against Djokovic were less tactical than his clashes with Federer, which he compared to “chess.”
“He (Djokovic) has greatly enhanced his strengths but has not radically adapted his game. I had a very marked tactic to play against Federer; he knew what I would seek, and I knew he would try to defend himself. It was a chess game. And when you made a mistake, you knew it,” he added.
“With Djokovic, there isn’t that level of strategy in the matches. You have to play at a very high level for a long time to beat him; it’s different.”
