Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest players to ever step foot on court. The Spaniard stepped up in 2001 and set the tennis world on fire. His dominance over other players made his playstyle quite famous. However, Rafa is not only known for his tennis but also for some specific acts he engages in before he starts a point. While they are well known when Rafa is on court, Casper Ruud, a close friend of the Spaniard now, observed that Nadal has a similar routine in other sports as well.

Casper Ruud and Rafael Nadal have been close friends for quite sometime now. Right after they finished with the ATP Finals, the two set out on a tour of Latin America and played their first exhibition match at Parque Roca in Buenos Aires.

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The Norwegian player is preparing to lay claim to the upcoming Wimbledon. As he readies himself for the tournament, he is taking some downtime by playing golf. During one of his rounds, he interviewed for the Wimbledon Twitter page.

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During the interview, Ruud revealed some hilarious antics of the 22-time grand slam champion. As his antics before a serve and taking a point are well known, Ruud stated that Nadal does the same when playing golf. 

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“I played with Rafa twice and shot with under-par both of them. If he watches this, I’m just gonna take s**t from him because his swing is awful. It looks so bad. But he makes it work somehow.” 

He continued his explanation and showed how Nadal moved his hips as he tried to find the perfect form. “He does like this stuff. I think he even does like this one,” he said as he gestured to Nadal’s signature move of adjusting his hair behind his ears.

“Like here he stops and then powers through,” Ruud ended his explanation of the Spaniard. “I don’t know, he has a lot of strange routine even in golf.” 

To notice such idiosyncrasies, one would have to know the other person well enough. Ruud had the chance to become friends with Rafa in 2022.

Latin America tour developed a great bond

Ruud teamed up with the 22-time major champion in Spain for their first flight to Argentina after finishing the ATP Finals. Before gracing the court together, Nadal and Ruud visited Iguazu Falls. Before they began their exhibition match in the capital, Buenos Aires, Nadal faced Alejandro Tabilo. They also played exhibition matches in Mexico, Belo Horizonte, Quito, and Bogota.

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Ruud used to idolize Nadal prior to their link-up. Now he can casually talk to his role model whenever he wants.