Known for his fierce battles and 22 Grand Slam titles, Rafael Nadal is a legend on court. But off it, he’s just Rafa, a simple man who adores his family. No one is closer to his heart than his younger sister, Maria Isabel Nadal, fondly known as ‘Maribel.’ He’s fiercely protective of her, and while retirement gives him more time with her, things aren’t exactly smooth sailing for the Nadal family.

Maribel has long been the force behind Rafa’s empire. She runs the marketing and communications at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor. She shapes the branding, manages events, and builds key partnerships. But that polished world of tennis and business turned into the setting of a nightmare. Rafa’s sister found herself at the center of a frightening ordeal.

On Monday, Spanish media revealed Maribel had been targeted by a dangerous stalker, who avoided jail (after being sentenced to a suspended jail sentence) despite admitting to harassing her. A 37-year-old German national, confessed to an unsettling pattern. He repeatedly showed up at the academy where Maribel, now 36, holds her high-profile role. He got hold of her number and launched a relentless campaign of calls and chilling texts.

The details are disturbing. In one message, he wrote: “I won’t be able to love you again, I’m going to hurt you.” In another, even darker: he described wanting to taste her blood. The texts often came at night, adding to the fright. A court in Majorca heard how the harassment left her cornered, anxious, and unsafe.

Judge Manuel Nunez Jimenez, who issued a five-page sentence last week under a plea deal, didn’t hold back. He called Moll McCarthy’s behavior “multiple and incessant.” The nonstop calls flooded both her personal and work phones. They invaded her peace of mind and robbed her of freedom. The court heard she grew so distressed that she couldn’t move freely without company.

The sentence revealed the toll on daily life. Maribel needed constant protection—sometimes from her dad, sometimes friends, often academy security. Whether walking to work or attempting routine errands, she was never truly alone. What should have been her safe professional space instead became a ground of intrusion and fear.

Officials haven’t disclosed the next steps, but for now, it’s a tense and frightening time for Rafa and Maribel. Through it all, she continues to lean on her older brother—the one who has always been her protector.

Rafael Nadal’s sister reveals what kind of brother he is

Rafa has always been known as a family-first guy, someone who enjoys being close to his loved ones. And while the Spaniard cherishes them all, there’s no denying his bond with his younger sister is extra special. Maria Isabel Nadal, who prefers to stay out of the limelight, recently opened up about their sibling relationship, and it’s as heartwarming as it is funny.

Even with his packed travel schedule across the ATP tour, Nadal never misses a chance to check in on Isabel. In fact, in his autobiography ‘Rafa: My Story’ (written when he was 35), Isabel revealed just how relentless her big brother can be. “An unusual and overprotective big brother, who calls her or texts ten times a day, wherever in the world he might be, he gets into a terrible flap, she says, at the slightest suggestion that she might be falling ill.”

She even shared a hilarious yet slightly dramatic story of Rafa “freaking out” while he was competing in Australia. Isabel recalled, “One time when he was away in Australia, my doctor ordered me to have some tests done—nothing too serious—but in all the messages I exchanged with Rafael, that was the one thing I didn’t mention. It would freak him out; it would risk throwing him completely off his game.” That’s big-brother energy at its loudest.

But behind the warrior with 22 Grand Slam singles titles, Isabel insists there’s also a softer Rafa the world rarely sees. She described a “soft, vulnerable core hidden beneath the hard warrior shell” and even called him “a bit of a scaredy cat.”

It’s a side only family gets to witness, and one that makes the King of Clay infinitely more relatable. But now with this situation unfolding for the family, only time will tell how it’s handled.