Rafael Nadal recently took to padel at his academy in Mallorca, the video of which subsequently went viral on social media. The 22-time Major winner’s sister has now reacted to pictures from his padel session. Being a racket-sport enthusiast, she sent an open challenge to the Spaniard to face off against her and women’s padel No. 3, Gemma Triay Pons.
Nadal hung up his racket at last year’s Davis Cup Finals after a prolonged battle with injuries. Following his retirement, there was a slight concern about whether the 38-year-old would be seen physically active again anytime soon. However, fans can rest easy on that front as the former World No. 1 was spotted playing padel at the his Mallorca-based academy earlier this week.
Rafael Nadal showed impressive athleticism in the video that was posted on social media by one of his fans. The 22-time Major winner took to his Instagram account to post some stills from his padel outing later on Wednesday (March 5). Gemma Triay Pons, who is placed third in the International Padel Federation women’s rankings, soon caught wind of the post as she implored his younger sister, Maribel, to pair up with her against the Spaniard’s team.
Maribel replied to her comment immediately after as she threw an open challenge to her brother. She also dared the 2016 French Open doubles champion and her good friend Marc Lopez to team up with the 38-year-old, to which Lopez agreed without much deliberation.
“@gemmatriay done 😎 We can challenge @rafaelnadal and @marclopeztarres 🎾 Let’s see if they dare 😜,” Maribel Nadal wrote in the replies to her brother’s Instagram post.
The 36-year-old Maribel is likely to be pretty adept at padel if her video of playing pickleball in 2023 is anything to go by.
“It is actually super fun” – When Rafael Nadal’s sister Maribel was all praise for pickleball
Pickleball doesn’t have many takers in the tennis community. However, Maribel admitted that she wasn’t opposed to playing the padel sport after she, RNA head coach Tomeu Salva, former World No. 16 Anabel Medina Garrigues, and pickleball pro Pei-Kao participated in an exhibition match to promote the new pickleball courts at the 22-time Major winner’s academy.
“It actually is super fun and I had a very, very good time. It’s the first time I played pickleball. If you’ve played tennis, you’ll recognise some things but the rules are different, the technique is also different. I had so much fun,” Maribel said in a video posted by RNA’s X handle.
Maribel, meanwhile, heads the Marketing & Sales department at her brother’s academy. She pursued Motor and Sports Science at the Institut Nacional d’Educacio Fisica de Catalunya (INEFC) in Barcelona before majoring in Sports Management.
