His son with Mary Perelló was born in 2022.
Rafael Nadal is probably in his final days as a professional tennis player. A succession of injuries has kept him out of a number of events and there are rumours that he will retire at the Davis Cup finals in November. Regardless of what happens with his career, there is one role that will remain in his life forever: that of being a father.
Rafael Nadal had his first child with Mary Perelló on October 8, 2022: “I am clear about it. It is a radical change, without a doubt. I think everyone who is a father or mother knows that it is a change. You have to manage it and adapt to it.” Rafa’s statement was made in the framework of an interview with the magazine “Hola”.
The couple decided to have a child after more than 10 years of relationship.
“I didn’t say that being a father wasn’t going to change me. I just said that my job wasn’t going to change me and it really doesn’t change me. It doesn’t change me for one simple reason, because I know how my partner thinks. I would change if I had a partner who didn’t want to travel and wanted to stay in Mallorca all the time with my son,” he added.
He has already begun to accompany him in tournaments.
What La Fiera says is that the changes that have taken place in his life are in the private sphere, and not in relation to his tennis career: “I am a person who loves children first and foremost, and I have always been clear that I want to be a father. I like to wake up with him.”
He doesn’t want me to be a tennis player
Asked about his son’s future in tennis, Rafael Nadal was blunt: “I would prefer my son to play another sport. It pains me to say that, because of everything this sport has given me. If he wants to play tennis, I would support him 100%, I would not veto him at all; but if he plays another sport, all the better.”
“My son is 16 months old, you have to see him. I think it is very easy to give an opinion. You can give lessons here and there, but when you are in the middle of it and it is your son, it is different,” added the former world number 1. He also indicated that he would not like to be the father who justifies everything his son does.
