Rafa Nadal is once again the center of attention after sharing some revealing words about his son, Rafael. The tennis player, who is 39 years old, stated bluntly: "It's still early, but my son has changed me."
A week ago, Xisca Perelló and Rafa Nadal celebrated the birth of their son Miquel, who was born on August 7 (7 de agosto) at Hospital Quirónsalud Palmaplanas in Palma. However, it was on October 8, 2022 (8 de octubre de 2022) when they began their journey into parenthood.
Over all these years, there have been several occasions when Rafa Nadal has spoken about little Rafa and about how his arrival changed his life. The revealing confessions he made during his latest visit to the set of El Hormiguero are proof of this.
During his appearance, after discussing other topics, the tennis player spoke candidly about his experience as a father. He even addressed various topics, including the impact that fatherhood has had on his sports career.
Rafa Nadal has spoken several times about how his life changed after the arrival of his first son
That day, Pablo Motos didn't want to miss the opportunity to ask Rafa Nadal about the changes he has experienced since the arrival of little Rafael. This well-known 39-year-old tennis player answered the question with humor.
"On a sports level, it's changed me drastically... I tell him that dad is a potato, because since he came into the world, I've won few matches. It's changed me, sports-wise, for the worse," he admitted. It should be remembered that his son's first year coincided with the most difficult stage of his professional career, marked by an injury in 2023.
Even so, Rafa Nadal assured that fatherhood has transformed him in a positive way in many other aspects. "In most things, it's changed me for the better. I've lost, I've been injured, but coming home and seeing him changes your mood drastically," he explained, acknowledging that his first son has been a great emotional support.
However, this isn't the first time the tennis player has spoken openly about this topic. In December 2022 (diciembre de 2022), just a few months after the birth of little Rafael, he addressed this subject in an interview with the Spanish edition of Esquire.
At that time, Rafa Nadal firmly stated that he didn't see himself as a different person just because he was a father: "I don't think there's a new version of me. I'm the same person, a year older than last year and, yes, with some new things on a personal level."
He also didn't hesitate to reveal what the arrival of the little one had meant in his life. "The birth is still very recent, but you do feel that something has changed in your life and that there's a person who depends on us. It's an indescribable feeling and love," he pointed out.
Moreover, as if that weren't enough, in February of last year, Rafa Nadal gave another interview to the program El Objetivo. There, he made it clear that he had always wanted to have children: "I'm a person who loves children, always have, all my life I've been sure that I want to be a father.[...]I'm in love with children: they're spontaneous, innocent..."
However, when Ana Pastor asked him if he wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, Rafa Nadal was blunt: "I'd prefer him 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'd support him one hundred percent, but if he plays another sport, even better," he added.