In both their personal and professional lives, Rafael Nadal and the renowned automobile manufacturer, KIA, have a long-standing association. Professionally, the Spaniard and the automaker enjoy a terrific business partnership. And personally, the former world number one has a bitter-sweet memory of buying a KIA for the first time.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion’s relationship with KIA started in 2004. Just after 3 years of turning into a professional tennis player, KIA was one of the sponsorship brands that showed belief in the young, rising sensation of that time. And even today, after almost two decades, the sponsorship is still going strong.

Rafael Nadal’s uncle shares a funny KIA incident 

Toni Nadal, in a recent conversation with Marça, talked about his nephew’s on-court plans for getting ready to participate in the clay-court swing. And while talking about the $220 million worth Spaniard, his uncle talked about how he carries his family values with him. In the same discussion, he also discussed his nephew’s personality and explained how his personal development led to his success on the tennis court.

The former tennis coach of the Spaniard recalled a funny anecdote from the time when the tennis player wanted to buy an Aston Martin. But his father’s advice took him around and he ended up buying a KIA.

He recalled, “He wanted an Aston Martin that he loved. His father told him: “What are you going to do with an Aston Martin in Manacor! Take the KIA”. Even after being the world’s number one tennis player, there were times when the Spaniard gave equal importance to his family member’s advice, the same way he respected professionalism on the tennis court.

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Unsurprisingly, the former world number one tennis player once credited his family and his family’s values for his attitude on the tennis court. 

When Nadal credited his family for his on-court attitude 

Last year, the 36-year-old tennis star attended a press conference and talked about how he was implementing all the life lessons imparted by his family. Regarding how he had learned to put a good effort and never give up on the court. Additionally, the former world number one considered himself super lucky, explaining how he managed to turn around one of his biggest hobbies as a child into a very important part of his life.

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Further, the 22-time Grand Slam champion detailed an example considering how ungrateful it is to have a negative attitude. He doesn’t like to break rackets unnecessarily on the tennis court, just to show his anger and frustration.