“He Gave Me This Passion” – Rafael Nadal Reveals His Inspiration to Play Tennis

Rafael Nadal begins his quest for the 20th Grand Slam. But where he does it is unknown. Tennis has been on a hiatus due to the coronavirus outbreak and after nearly six months the tour will resume in August. Players have started their preparations and Nadal has begun it with the people he loves the most – the fans.

Nadal has gone live on Facebook as part of his Get Rafa Moving live stream event. In the event, Rafa answered questions from fans and practiced the skills they want to see. As the coronavirus limits fan involvement in the sport, Rafa is trying his best to stay connected with his followers.

“Since I was a kid I had my uncle as my coach” – Rafael Nadal

In the first few questions, Rafa was asked who inspires him. Roger Federer has over the years said that players like Stefan Edberg and Pete Sampras have inspired him to play tennis. But with Rafa, it was different.

Read More: “Everyone Gives You a Different Challenge”- Rafael Nadal on Playing Against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

For 90 percent of his career, Rafa was coached by his uncle Toni Nadal. Toni was the one who placed a tennis racquet in Rafa’s hands when he was three. From a young age, tennis has been a personal thing for Rafa. The sport itself inspires the Spaniard and its history ignites a passion.

“I think it has been a personal thing. Since I was a kid I had my uncle that was my coach so he gave me this passion for the sport. It is a lot about the history of tennis and I feel passionate about the sport in general. But tennis is the sport I have played since I was three years old. I can’t say I have somebody in particular that inspires me, I think the sport by itself inspires me to keep going,” Nadal said.

Nadal has always had a different approach to things. And the career that he has had can be mainly attributed to his uncle and Nadal’s passion and hard work.

Sources: Rafael Nadal Facebook