Superstition is a common practice, followed by several renowned sports professionals around the world. Many engage in several unique rituals, both before and during the match, with some having more complicated rituals than others. Rafael Nadal is one player who has a meticulous pre-match ritual. He strategically places his drinks to ensure complete focus. Like the legendary Spaniard, Frances Tiafoe, the American tennis sensation, also has a simple activity to get himself in the right space of mind before a match. However, unlike the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Tiafoe has a peculiar pre-match ritual of not talking to his parents. Let’s find out why.

Frances Tiafoe dishes out weird advice to up-and-coming players

At a players’ conference, Frances Tiafoe was asked a rather interesting question from an aspiring player’s mother. She asked Tiafoe what he does before a match to ensure that he has absolute focus. Tiafoe’s reply left everyone in the audience in splits, including Taylor Fritz.

As per the American player, he doesn’t talk to his parents prior to any match. He reasoned that talking to his parents can stress him out as they ask quite a few questions. 

“The thing I do before matches is not talk to my parents. Sorry for all the parents. You guys, you guys love to stress out, ‘Are you okay?’, ‘Are you good?’ I’m good, Mom, I’m good. So that’s, that’s what we all will do, but yeah, we just letting, especially these kids be kids and let them go through all the emotions,” he said.

Read more – “Bundle of Nervous Energy”: Andy Murray, Marin Cilic, and Others Describe Rafael Nadal’s Pre-Game Rituals

Tiafoe further doled out some advice for aspiring players and their parents.

“Let them figure out what works for them, what doesn’t work for them. Let their coach or whoever you guys put in the position empower them to guide these guys and gals and try to be the best players they can be.”

Rafael Nadal’s pre-match ritual

The Spaniard is someone who has a very specific pre-match ritual which helps him gain absolute focus on the match. As per Rafa, when he enters the court, he places his energy drink slightly in front of his water bottle. He also makes sure that the labels on both bottles are facing the court. He takes a sip from both bottles after the ends change and aligns them to where he would be playing next.

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Rituals and superstitions end up becoming part of every sports professional’s life. Some are more intense than others, but some form of superstition can be found in all players.