The wedding of Rafael Nadal to his childhood friend, Xisca Perello will be a grand old ceremony. However, a familiar face will be missing from the guest list of numerous dignitaries. Swiss tennis star and Nadal’s good friend, Roger Federer will be absent from the revelries.

Last month, Federer claimed that he did not even know when the ceremony was taking place. Although Nadal and Federer are fierce rivals on the court, off it, they are very close friends. Their friendship even got to a point where they were rarely spotted apart, particularly during the Laver Cup.

So, it was surprising to see that Roger Federer was absent from the world No 2’s guest list. This revelation came, despite early suggestions that he would be in attendance.

“You should understand you cannot believe everything that appears on the reports,” Roger Federer said last month.

“I do not know anything about it. And I have a plan for the weekend before the Basel tournament.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Blickch, he said, “I was not invited to Rafa‘s wedding and did not expect it either, I congratulated him on his wedding day but did not expect him to write me back since he hopefully had better things to do like partying,I look forward to seeing him and ask him how it was“

Meanwhile, Nadal’s compatriots Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco turned up for the wedding. Joining them will be Nadal’s uncle Toni, and coaches Francis Roig and Carlos Moya. Even former Barcelona midfielder Miguel Angel Nadal will be present at the venue, along with former king, Juan Carlos.

Nadal and Perello have been in a relationship for 15 years and will finally tie the knot at the luxurious estate of La Fortaleza in Majorca.

Tomeu Catala will be presiding over the ceremony and he told island paper Diario de Mallorca earlier this month: “Everyone of the weddings I have been involved in has been special and this one will be the same. I am just going to marry two people who love each other.”