Rafael Nadal has always been more than comfortable at biting trophies rather than kissing it right from the very start of his career. However, why does the Spaniard embraces his championship trophies with a love bite?
Nadal is not the only athlete to bite his title. In fact, it has been very common with the Olympians. The tradition of biting the title can be traced all the way back to the ancient Olympic Games when the prospectors used to bit the medal to test its purity. Human teeth are harder than gold, so if the bite leaves a mark on the medal then it is confirmed that it is made of pure gold.
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“I have no option” – Rafael Nadal
Nadal won a tournament during his early career and he jokingly bit the trophy. The press loved it. Subsequently, in the next tournament, they asked him to do it again, and again and again. It has become a ritual now. However, the tennis trophies are made up of metal and Nadal revealed that the metal does not taste good.
“The truth is that it all started as a joke. But from then on there were always photographers who were asking me to do it. I kept doing it and now I have no option but to go on doing so because I can assure you that they don’t taste good,” Nadal said in a press meeting during the 2018 Davis Cup.
Also Read: When Rafael Nadal Made Novak Djokovic Bend The Knee
Since his resurgence in 2017, Nadal has clinched 5 Grand Slam titles, bringing his Grand Slam tally to 19. He is just one Slam behind arch-rival Roger Federer‘s all-time record of 20 majors. Nadal fans will certainly hope to see him bite at least one more Grand Slam trophy after the tour resumes.
