{"id":30629,"date":"2025-03-05T03:14:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T03:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30629"},"modified":"2025-03-05T03:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T03:14:55","slug":"rafael-nadal-trades-his-love-for-tennis-as-the-spanish-legend-tries-his-hand-at-a-new-sport-after-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30629","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal Trades His Love for Tennis as the Spanish Legend Tries His Hand at a New Sport After Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">\u201c<em>I like being active and doing things; now is the time to organize my next chapter.<\/em>\u201d These words of Rafael Nadal don\u2019t give the impression that he is missing tennis too much post-retirement. The 22-time Grand Slam champion said goodbye to tennis at the Davis Cup Finals last year, and by his own admission, he has not picked up the racket ever since. But is that entirely true? Well, the Spanish maestro might not have picked up the tennis racket, but he is trying his hand at padel.<\/p>\n<div id=\"scroll-1\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">In 2021, when asked about padel\u2019s growing prominence, Nadal wasn\u2019t reluctant to admit it at all. During an interview with Padel Magazine, the Spaniard said, \u201c<em>I like sport in general. I play golf. I think I\u2019ll grab a padel racket, why not? I am sure that in the future I will have more time to enjoy other sports. Padel is growing, and I think it will be fun because it\u2019s easier to play.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"scroll-2\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">True to his word, on March 4, Nadal was seen at his Academy engaging in a thrilling game of padel. And, watching his swift movements and techniques, it seems he is capable of dominating this racket sport, too.<\/p>\n<div id=\"_adr_abp_container_1\" class=\"_adr_abp_container\" data-section=\"23b6c23c958dd28cdc957bd653cf6163\" data-packetid=\"00000001-d2f58129-2f31-4500-9ca4-ea6b41e6eed2\" data-render-time=\"1741144370079\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"jsx-dde2bcacaa9f36f5 twitter-container\">\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=kapoortanisha2&amp;dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1896951241210745078&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.essentiallysports.com%2Fatp-tennis-news-rafael-nadal-trades-his-love-for-tennis-as-the-spanish-legend-tries-his-hands-on-a-new-sport-after-retirement%2F&amp;sessionId=39f08ba9e14699b854fb3b30a1d57f582abf7323&amp;siteScreenName=es_sportsnews&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1896951241210745078\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Nadal\u2019s interest in padel is evident by the arrangements at Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. The academy includes 12 padel courts alongside tennis courts, promoting the sport among young athletes and enthusiasts. Even before his retirement, Rafa was once spotted playing padel at his academy in 2024.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-posts-new_container-div__f8NIV\">\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Padel has gained immense popularity in Spain, surpassing tennis and becoming the second most popular sport after soccer. A new Rafa Nadal Academy in Marbella is all set to include 2 padel courts as part of its comprehensive sports complex. Let\u2019s find out more about this new academy!<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"dom-traversal_domNewH2__H0HKD\">Rafael Nadal set to strengthen tennis roots in Spain<\/h2>\n<div id=\"scroll-3\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Rafael Nadal\u00a0is ready to expand his Academy to different locations in a bid to produce tennis stars like himself. Apart from maintaining a world-class Academy in his hometown Mallorca, the former World number 1 has already established his academy in Mexico, Greece, and Hong Kong. And now, he wants to open another facility in Marbella, Spain, in July 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">This new facility will be situated at the Don Carlos Hotel. It will have 7 clay courts, 2 padel courts with ocean views, and a Babolat and Nike clothing and accessory shop, which have been Nadal\u2019s longtime sponsors. Adding a personal touch, it will also house a small exhibition displaying some of the prestigious trophies won by the 22-time Grand Slam champion in his career.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Talking about the expansion, Nadal said<em>, \u201cI\u2019m very happy that we\u2019re officially announcing the birth of a new Rafa Nadal Tennis Center in Marbella, as it also consolidates the project for the expansion of our methodology within Spain. I\u2019m sure fans of the sport will really enjoy our courses and these wonderful facilities.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">Nadal\u2019s contribution to Spain hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed as he was recently given the \u2018Coraz\u00f3n de Espa\u00f1a\u2019 (Heart of Spain) award by the Spanish NOC president Alejandro Blanco. The 38-year-old was also gifted a special canvas depicting his triumphant gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dom-traversal_domPTag__RMrin\">With his academy\u2019s expansion and newfound love for padel, Nadal is proving that his passion for sports goes beyond just tennis.\u00a0Even in retirement, he continues to leave his mark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI like being active and doing things; now is the time to organize my next chapter.\u201d These words of Rafael Nadal don\u2019t give the impression that he&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":30630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Rafael Nadal Trades His Love for Tennis as the Spanish Legend Tries His Hand at a New Sport After Retirement - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=30629\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal Trades His Love for Tennis as the Spanish Legend Tries His Hand at a New Sport After Retirement - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI like being active and doing things; 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