Rafael Nadal knew only Spanish when he first started playing tennis professionally at the age of 15. As a result, he was unable to communicate more effectively than other tennis players. And as he struggled with his language barrier and made every effort to learn English, there was one individual, Marc Maury, who helped him communicate on the tennis court when the Spaniard competed at the Roland Garros.

You may be familiar with Marc Maury, the renowned stadium announcer at the French Open, who has been associated with the competition for almost 20 years. The former rugby player has a long history with the clay-court Grand Slam competition and the tennis icon who has won the championship 14 times.

How did Maury contribute to Rafael Nadal’s communication?

As the 22-time Grand Slam champion made the French Open tournament his second home for the last 17 years. In the same way, the 65-year-old broadcaster has also been a part of the tournament for a long time. This will be his 20th year at the French Open. In an interview with tennis.com, Maury looked back on the 17-year-old Spaniard’s English speaking difficulties.

He recalled how he met the then-teenager Nadal for the first time in 2003, in Monte Carlo. At that time, Nadal secured his first win at the tournament against tennis player Karol Kucera. The Rugby player turned popular broadcaster was the first one to approach him for an interview.

He recalled, “And he looked at me and said, ‘No hablo Ingles. I don’t speak English.’ I said, ‘No worries. I will help you. My school Spanish is coming back, but you have to help me. Speak slowly and I will help you to do it in Spanish.” 

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Moreover, after that, literally 5 years in a row, Maury acted as a translator for the 14-time French Open champion as he took his interviews in Spanish. He would translate what the Spaniard said in English and French, till he started speaking both languages on his own. In addition, Rafa occasionally acknowledges Maury for helping him out with the interviews.

However, the former world number one tennis player faced a lot of language problems during the press conferences after the matches. That too in such a way that even his arch-rival Roger Federer laughed out loud at his English-speaking skills.

When Federer made fun of Nadal’s English

Literally eight years ago, while they were working on a commercial together, the two tennis legends shared a giggle in front of the camera. However, nobody was aware of the conversation that made them both laugh aloud until last year.

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The 22-time Grand Slam champion disclosed the precise cause of the laugh in a podcast last year. The 37-year-old tennis pro admitted that the Swiss maestro had been making fun of him for speaking English poorly. However, with time, the Spaniard has greatly improved his command of the English language.

Do you think Nadal can speak good English now? Let us know in the comments below.