After missing almost the entire 2023 season due to injuries, Spanish tennis legend, Rafael Nadal, is gearing for his comeback next year. Earlier this month, he announced that he’ll return to action at the Brisbane International. The ATP 250 tournament will serve as a warmup tournament for the Spaniard ahead of the Australian Open. Recently, days ahead of his comeback, Nadal reunited with a fellow ATP star and his childhood friend.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been practicing in full swing as he aims to get back in shape for his comeback. Amidst this, he found a familiar face at one of his practice sessions. Let’s find out who this close friend is.

Rafael Nadal meets an ATP veteran and childhood friend at his academy

Hours ago, a picture went viral on social media from Nadal’s tennis academy in Manacor. It showed the Spanish legend alongside 37-year-old ATP veteran, Richard Gasquet. The two are close friends on and off the court and have a history of head-to-head battles. While the off-season is underway in tennis, the two caught up for a practice session together.

Interestingly, the two were born in the same year, 1986, and are from the same batch. The 1986 generation is still going strong on the tour and the two are hoping for a good 2024 season before time runs out for them. Additionally, Nadal and Gasquet made their debut around the same time during the early 2000s.

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Further, in another post, a point from their practice session was shown. Nadal looked at his usual best as he left Gasquet in awe. While the French star served big, Nadal managed to return and in his next shot, put a forehand winner beside Gasquet.

The two have a great relationship, so much so that Nadal made a significant contribution to Gasquet’s book last year. It was an emotional moment for the French star during his book release. Subsequently, he hailed Nadal for his contribution.

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Nadal’s kind gesture

Last year, Gasquet released his book, named ‘À Revers Et Contre Tout’ which translates to ‘Backwards and Against Everything.’ Nadal contributed by writing the preface of the book. As a result, Gasquet thanked him deeply for this contribution.

Sharing the message on his official Instagram handle, Gasquet said, “Happy to introduce you to my book! Thanks to @editionsstock! Thanks to @rafaelnadal for his preface which touched me a lot.”

Given that both the players are at the fag end of their careers, it’ll be interesting to see how they perform next year. While Nadal has dominated the head-to-head battle against Gasquet, being 18-0 up, fans will savor one last match between the two childhood friends. On the other hand, Gasquet will be keen to open his account against Nadal.

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