All posts tagged: Nadal

Messi reveals Rafa Nadal inspiration after World Cup hat-trick, explains emotional first goal

Messi reveals Rafa Nadal inspiration after World Cup hat-trick, explains emotional first goal

Published by Webster

3 min readJun 17, 2026 11:13 AM IST After a blockbuster hat-trick on Argentina’s opening night at the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Algeria, Lionel Messi revealed that he was seeking inspiration from an unlikely corner, a Netflix documentary series involving a tennis giant. Shortly after Argentina romped to a 3-0 win on the back of his maiden World Cup hat-trick in his 200th international appearance, Messi revealed that he was inspired by Rafael Nadal’s journey through the lens of his four-part documentary, released on May 29 this year. Despite suffering an injury concern in the lead-up to the World Cup, Messi shrugged off all concerns when he blasted his opening goal in the 17th from open play with a curling shot that blasted into the right corner of the Algerian goal. ALSO READ | Most international hat-tricks: Messi surpasses Ronaldo in Argentina’s WC 2026 opener After tripling his tally in the 76th minute for his first World Cup hat-trick, Messi took home a bunch of colossal records, including equalling the World Cup record for …

Dhanush says he ‘regrets’ judging tennis legend Rafael Nadal whenever he lost after watching Netflix documentary

Dhanush says he ‘regrets’ judging tennis legend Rafael Nadal whenever he lost after watching Netflix documentary

Published by Parlour News

A Netflix documentary about the former Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal was recently dropped. It found a fan in Tamil star Dhanush, who posted a review on his social media. The actor also got candid about judging Rafael whenever he lost a match, but said he understood his struggles better after watching the doc. Dhanush says the documentary helped him understand Rafael Nadal’s struggle better. (Reuters) Dhanush reviews Rafael Nadal documentary Dhanush began his post on Instagram, making it clear that his review of the Netflix documentary Rafa was not a promotional post, but one from a fan who spent more than half his life watching the player’s matches. “Watching this documentary and realizing everything you went through to give your all to the sport was overwhelming. Without knowing the pain, the stress, and the anxiety you were carrying, I regret all those times I shouted at the TV when you lost a point, a set, or a match: “Vamos Rafa, you could have done better.” “Why are you making this so hard on yourself?” …

Rafael Nadal rubbishes reports of challenging for Real Madrid presidency | Football News

Rafael Nadal rubbishes reports of challenging for Real Madrid presidency | Football News

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: May 14, 2026 05:39 PM IST Rafael Nadal has denied reports and speculation linking him to fight for the post of president of Real Madrid after the current incumbent Florentino Perez announced elections at the Spanish club. The 22-time Grand Slam winner is known to be an ardent fan and an honorary member of the club. “I have read reports that link me as a possible candidate for the Real Madrid presidency,” Nadal wrote on social media. “I would like to clarify that these reports are not true.” He leído informaciones que me relacionan con posibles candidaturas a la presidencia del Real Madrid. Me gustaría aclarar que estas informaciones no son ciertas. — Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 13, 2026 Nadal has previous expressed interest to potentially succeed Perez in the role. Perez has held the post since 2009, having previously been president between 2000 and 2006. He had at the time itself clarified that it was no concrete plan though. “Would I like to be [president]? I think so,” he told Movistar …

Jannik Sinner surpasses record held by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with Madrid Open win | Tennis News

Jannik Sinner surpasses record held by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with Madrid Open win | Tennis News

Published by Webster

3 min readMay 4, 2026 04:47 PM IST Jannik Sinner’s comprehensive straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev helped him clinch his first Madrid Open title and thus do something that not even the Big 3 of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were able to do over the course of their illustrious careers. Sinner has become the first man to win five successive Masters 1000 titles. He has also become the first man to win all of the first four Masters events of a season, having earlier taken the titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. Before these, he had won the Paris Masters last year. His success thus spans both hard and clay courts. He was earlier level with Djokovic, Federer and Nadal for having won four Masters 1000 titles in a row across seasons. Sinner had made history before winning the title itself. His 6-2, 6-4 win over Arthur Fils made him just the fourth and youngest man to reach final of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, after the Big 3 …

From Rafael Nadal to Viktor Axelsen, tributes pour in for Spanish badminton legend – ‘Achieving feats that seemed impossible in Spain…’

From Rafael Nadal to Viktor Axelsen, tributes pour in for Spanish badminton legend – ‘Achieving feats that seemed impossible in Spain…’

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 26, 2026 10:59 PM IST As Carolina Marin announced on Thursday her decision to retire from professional badminton, tributes poured in for the three-time World Champion and Rio 2016 Olympics gold medallist, from her compatriot, Rafael Nadal, and a variety of badminton superstars. Marin, who had to pull out of her semi-final at the Paris Games due to a knee injury, said she didn’t want to retire this way (due to injuries and not on the court) but she couldn’t put her body at risk any longer. The ​32-year-old Spaniard had planned to return to competition at the European Championships in her birthplace Huelva next ​month. “I’d have ​liked for us ⁠to see each other one last time on court, but ‌I don’t want to put my body at risk for that,” Marin said in a video on Instagram. “Deep down, I did retire on court, in Paris ⁠in ⁠2024. We just didn’t know it at the time.” Marin ⁠won ‌the World Championships in ​2014, 2015 and 2018, ‌and beat India’s …

The Rafael Nadal fan who defeated Carlos Alcaraz at Miami Masters

The Rafael Nadal fan who defeated Carlos Alcaraz at Miami Masters

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Mar 23, 2026 08:23 PM IST Carlos Alcaraz’s hard-court swing after winning the 2026 Australian Open saw a second dent in a row on Sunday after he was knocked out in the third round of the Miami 1000 Masters by United States’ Sebastian Korda. The Spaniard fell 3-6 7-5 6-4 to the 32nd seed – the lowest-ranked seed in the draw – who pulled off a feat not seen in over two decades: no player ranked as low among the seeds had beaten a Masters 1000 top seed since Rafael Nadal did it in 2004. He also became the lowest-ranked opponent – 36th – to defeat the Spaniard since David Goffin beat him at the Miami Masters last year, when he was ranked 55th in the world. Here are a few more things to know about Korda: 1. Before defeating Alcaraz on Sunday, Korda already carried a family lineage in tennis. His father, Petr Korda, once reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 and won two Grand Slams, taking the Australian …

‘It’s great to praise your coach, but you have to remember the other one…’ Toni Nadal on Alcaraz not mentioning coach Ferrero after winning Aus Open title | Tennis News

‘It’s great to praise your coach, but you have to remember the other one…’ Toni Nadal on Alcaraz not mentioning coach Ferrero after winning Aus Open title | Tennis News

Published by Webster

5 min readUpdated: Feb 4, 2026 07:28 PM IST With his 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final last week, world number two Carlos Alcaraz became only the second Spanish player after Rafael Nadal to win the Australian Open. Nadal had become the first Spanish player to win the Australian Open in 2009 before winning the title again in 2022. Alcaraz, who now trains under Samuel Lopez, won the title months after his split with his long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and the Spaniard did not mention his former coach during his victory’s speech at the Rod Laver Arena. During his time with Ferrero, Alcaraz won six Grand Slam titles and Toni Nadal, uncle of Rafael Nadal, has shared how he believes Alcaraz should have remember Ferrero and how he wouldn’t have liked if Nadal would have not mentioned about his coach Carlos Moya after he left in Nadal’s career. “It’s great to praise your coach, but you have to remember the other one too. I don’t know how …

Toni Nadal says Carlos Alcaraz faces lower-calibre rivals than past greats

Toni Nadal says Carlos Alcaraz faces lower-calibre rivals than past greats

Published by Parlour News

2 min readFeb 2, 2026 01:37 PM IST Toni Nadal, the uncle and former coach of Rafael Nadal, has claimed that Carlos Alcaraz has been “lucky” to rise in an era of comparatively weaker opposition, saying the current generation does not pose the same challenge as players like Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro and Stan Wawrinka once did. Nadal said that while Alcaraz possessed outstanding physical and technical qualities, the overall standard of opposition he faces today is lower than in previous eras. “He [Alcaraz] has exceptional physical attributes, excellent technical skill, and on top of that, he’s lucky: his opponents are of a lower calibre. And I’m not saying this because I’m Rafael Nadal’s uncle – not at all. I try to be fair, but it’s clear.” “Before, when you went out to play against [Juan] Del Potro, [Andy] Murray, or [Stan] Wawrinka , you knew you were going to suffer and that the match was going to be tough. If they had a great day, they could beat you,” Nadal told Onda …

Had Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal chosen football over tennis

Had Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal chosen football over tennis

Published by Webster

His schoolmates called him pichichi. The top scorer. He scored with both feet, juggled the ball on his instep like Ronaldinho; sliced the ball from outside of his boot; conjured goals from the back-heel. He told his coach: “I want to quit tennis and play futsal.” He told the coach that tennis’s lonely pursuit bored him. In the five-a-side football played on a court somewhere between a basketball court and a handball court, he was not alone. But his father, a former national player and a tennis coach cajoled him back to tennis, a family lineage. Ten years later, he is the best tennis player in the world, and when he retires, he could waltz into the rarefied space of the greats. That boy is Carlos Alcaraz. Had fate smiled differently, he would have been a futsal great, though anonymous, playing amateur tournaments in Spain for fun. Then, had destiny winked differently, the greatest Spaniard to have ever picked up a tennis racquet, and one of the greatest of all time, would not have existed. …