“Uf! This originates from a very long time ago…”
Rafael Nadal recently talked about his long-standing practice of pulling down his underwear moments before serving in a tennis match.
At the Barcelona Open, the Spaniard wrapped up what was likely his final season before announcing his planned retirement. On Wednesday, April 17, he overcame Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-2, 6-3 in the opening round before losing to Alex de Minaur of Australia 7-5, 6-1 in the second.
But since his health came first, he was relieved to be able to take part in the ATP 500 event at all.
“I had decided a week ago that I would never play here again. Before the competition, there was a very clear message to focus on not taking any chances. Being on the court is fantastic news, and being able to play was the most important thing,” he stated following the game.
He most famously had a Q&A session on the kids’ Instagram page, “Los Gonzalez de Tour,” with Mexican tennis player Santiago Gonzalez’s son Matias and daughter Camila while he was in Barcelona.
One of the many queries directed at Rafael Nadal was about his propensity to undress when preparing to serve.
“Why do you pull out your pants before you serve?” inquired Camila.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was at a loss for words and implied that he had been doing it since he was younger.
“Uf! This originates from a very long time ago. originates from my early years and is something I’ve never been able to let go of,” he remarked.