Andy Roddick has disclosed a hilarious story Rafael Nadal told him during the pair’s recent meeting in the Dominican Republic. Roddick was invited by Nadal to the Caribbean nation to conduct an interview with the 22-time singles Grand Slam champion. The interview was recently released as a part of an episode of the Served With Andy Roddick podcast.

Nadal’s story featured the Spaniard’s two-year-old son, Rafael Junior. It was about how the little one imitated his father. Roddick revealed that the Spaniard experienced severe foot pain for a month following his emotional retirement at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. During this period, the record 14-time French Open winner would make noises when walking up and down the stairs because of his foot pain.

The 38-year-old told the American that afterwards, he had to go out of town for some work. According to Andy Roddick, during a phone call with his wife Maria on this particular trip, Rafael Nadal learned that his two-year-son was funnily making the same sort of noises when walking up and down the stairs.

“He told me a story and he was so happy telling it, that for a month he was sidestepping down the stairs and he’d be like, “uh, oh, uh”, and he’s making all those sounds because his foot hurts and then I guess he had to go out of town to do something,” Roddick said (at 1:03:06)

“He called his wife Maria and she was laughing because their son, without him there, was sidestepping down the stairs going, “uh, oh, uh, uh, uh”, just imitating him because he thinks, “Oh, if my dad Rafa senior walks on the steps like that, I guess I have to do that all the time. That’s just the way you walk down the stairs.”,” he added.

While announcing his retirement, the Spaniard had emotionally laid bare how watching his son grow keeps him alive.

“A force that has really kept me alive” – Rafael Nadal on significance of seeing son Rafael Junior grow up

The former No. 1 and 22-time Major winner announced his decision to retire at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals on October 10, 2024, through an emotional video on social media. At one point during the video, the Spaniard thanked his wife Maria, who is also affectionately known as Mery, and also laid bare the importance of experiencing the growth of his toddler son.

“My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done. I think you’ve been the perfect travel companion during all these years of career. To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue,” Nadal said.