Tennis' Rafael Nadal Gives Rare Insight Into His Life as a New Dad

Fatherhood is an easy ace for Rafael Nadal. 

The 22-time Grand Slam winner and his wife Maria Francisca Perello welcomed their first child, a son, in October 2022. And though he's mastered many shots and perfected quite the serve, fatherhood is still teaching Rafael something new every day. 

"Everything surprises you because everything is new," he told E! News during a press conference ahead of The Netflix Slam on March 3. "Especially the first kid you have, everything is 100 percent new for my wife and for me. So you learn everyday, and every day is unexpected."

Yet despite the learning curve, becoming a parent is an adventure the 37-year-old always wanted to have in his playbook. 

"I have always been a kids guy," he reflected. "I always enjoyed spending time with the kids, I had plenty of smaller cousins than me so I had a lot of fun with them when they were babies."

And for the Spanish player—whose career is often surrounded by questions of retirement these days—he's focused on enjoying this stage of his life, tennis, diapers and all.

"I can say nothing negative," he added. "I am lucky that for the moment the baby is doing very well. We are happy."

But while Rafael is mastering the game of fatherhood, there is another who has spent a lifetime learning from his professional career: fellow Spaniard and Rafael's opponent during the March 3 exhibition match, Carlos Alcaraz.

In fact for the 20-year-old, who is currently ranked number two in the world, Rafael's tenacity on the court has served as one of his greatest inspirations. 

"For me, every time that he stepped on the court," Carlos said of Rafael, "[it's been] that fighting spirit. That he never gives up on the ball, and the way he finds solutions when things are not going well."

He added, "I think that's incredible, and I think that's the thing I learned from him and tried to put it in my own way."

And the matchup between the two Spanish players promises to be, likewise, nothing short of incredible.

Take it from Andre Agassi—another tennis player whose career became that of legend—one of the commentators for the match which is streaming live from his hometown of Las Vegas.

"It's going to be a good one, because what we're seeing is amazing," Andre told E! News ahead of the big game. "You got two of the greats, a historical legend and future legend of the game, meeting at a really interesting time in their career. And so I can't think of a better way to introduce tennis to Vegas."

So be sure not to miss The Netflix Slam, which streams live on the platform at 12:30 p.m. PT / 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 3. 

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