Tennis champion Rafael Nadal opens up on his doubts, getting married and his passion for nature
We know how meticulous champion Rafael Nadal is on the court. How did the superstitious ‘king of clay’ fare with his wedding preparations? Meanwhile, he reveals his passion for nature and his major motivator.
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He carefully twists his water bottles to face his end of the court, and always steps over the lines with his right foot first.
For almost two decades, Rafael Nadal has been the most meticulous man in world tennis.
But when it came to organising his October wedding to long-term girlfriend Xisca Parello, and deciding on the folds and fonts on the invites for example, the Spaniard was happy to take a back seat.
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For all of his trademark quirks in between points over 17 years, Nadal says he is far more chilled on the home front, when he is not blasting furry green balls at his opponent with unrelenting power and precision.
“Because of my routines, people think I am superstitious or very organised outside the court,” Nadal said.
“I am completely the opposite.
“I have my routines on the court, but off the court I am not superstitious. I am not very well organised (laughing).
“With my wife (before the wedding), I have my opinion on a couple of things, but I always believe this day is more about the bride, rather than the man.
“We had a great celebration with the people that we love and it was very private. There were not many pictures – that was something we are super happy the people respected.
“My wife she is not very comfortable when she gets a lot of attention.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the honeymoon lasted only one day, as the undisputed ‘king of clay’ went quickly back to blasting balls again, rounding out one of the most successful, if not satisfying seasons of his career.
Incredibly, Nadal finished the year, again, ranked No. 1 in the world, after netting the French and US Open crowns and the Davis Cup.
Over the next fortnight, he will attempt to repeat his 2009 Australian Open triumph and win a 20th Grand Slam title, equaling Swiss champion Roger Federer.
But it’s not the number that motivates the veteran baseliner.
For the ever gracious Nadal, tennis remains a blessing in his life.
To be blunt, even Nadal thought he would be retired by now, his body finally packed up on him after a debilitating run of foot, knee and back injuries.
Painkillers have been a constant friend since 2005.
But with some recent technical tweaks on his serve, and an increased appetite to attack at the net, Nadal again feels on top of his game.
“My personal motivation is that I love what I am doing,” he said.
“I know that what I am doing today is not forever. But, of course, every year that I am on the tour is a personal present for me.
“Everybody thought, and even me, that I would not be able to play (at this stage) but here I am. Here I am enjoying it, playing well and just trying to enjoy all these opportunities now and all these experiences.”
But this week, in a way, has transcended tennis.
Nadal says he is happiest when he is connected with nature, and the devastating images of Australia’s bushfire crisis have genuinely rocked him.
But, like two years ago when he joined locals in Mallorca to clean up the floods, Nadal has been quick to help, generously offering his time and money.
While the Olympic gold medallist has lost his past four Australian Open finals, including a three-setter last year to Novak Djokovic, Nadal has always felt a strong affinity with our country.
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“We have lost a lot here in Australia in the last (few) months and even if I am from the north part of the world, it is about our planet and I love our planet,” Nadal said.
“I love nature and I always appreciate it much more when I plan travel for myself, holidays, I always do it in a natural perspective rather than visiting big cities or things that humans are able to construct.
“I am from an island and I love the ocean and when you see these disasters, it is something that I am super sad.”
He does it not for the image or ego boost, but to positively impact lives in the same way his foundation has been helping educate and coach children all over the world since 2008.
“I have never tried to promote my help, what I am doing with my foundation, because honestly, when I see all this promotion that famous people do, it is great, but at some point I don’t believe,” he said.
“I don’t want to be this kind of person that does the things to have a better image.”
It is why he attempts to keep things as normal and grounded as possible, appearing as relaxed as ever in blue chinos and a white Nike T-shirt this week to promote InsureandGo’s ‘Go
There’ campaign on level three of Crown Metropol.
Nadal is the face of a new advertising campaign for the Australian online travel insurer which is a subsidiary of MAPFRE, which he has been with for more than 10 years.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experiences that touring in Australia has given me, and I believe InsureandGo’s campaign is a fantastic way to encourage Aussies to travel, and elevating the importance of taking travel insurance,” Nadal said.
His team of support staff, like his sponsors, have been on hand for the bulk of his sparkling career, aside from his coach Carlos Moya, who stepped in for his ‘uncle Toni’ in 2017.
And to stay sharp, Nadal has remained always open to negative feedback and constructive criticism of his game, prompting some changes to his grip, among other things, to help bolster his serve and movement.
“I changed a little bit the movement of my serve since last year and last year had been a very successful year in terms of serving statistics,” he said.
“This is something that I really need at this moment, to be competitive.”
Always, Nadal wants honest feedback, no matter how scathing. It’s how he stays “real” in a superstar’s world.
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“It is difficult because sometimes in my position or people have success they have people around all day they tell you how good you are, how good you do things,” he said.
“This is difficult situation because, for example, in tennis you pay your coach, your physio, your people, so it is difficult for these people to tell you are not playing well, or you doing this disaster, because then they may feel their jobs are at risk.
“People feel free to tell me what they really believe what they think will be good for me.
“Of course, when you hear things that you don’t like, that no one likes, negative things, it is difficult.
“Or when you are not playing things the right way, but first of all that makes you feel alive, it makes you feel real. I
“If not, you are not living in the real world. I want to be a normal human person, not a superstar that I am here and that I am always right. I want to be at the same stage (level) as everyone.”