Rafael Nadal’s sister Maribel recently enjoyed a beach vacation with her gal pals. The 37-year-old donned a black bikini as she soaked up the sun with her friends and shared glimpses from her outing with fans.
Maribel is the younger sister of Rafael Nadal and has become a known face in the tennis world over the years. During the course of her brother’s career, the Spaniard was often spotted in the stands cheering for him and acting as a source of constant support. Maribel also boasts a large following on social media, where she gives fans glimpses of her own life.
Thanks for the submission!
Most recently, the younger Nadal invited fans behind-the-scenes into her beach vacation with friends. Posing in a black bikini, Maribel posted snaps of her outing on her Instagram story.
Through the years, Maribel Nadal has stayed closely intertwined with the tennis and sporting world independent of her brother’s career. She holds a Master’s degree in Sports Management from the Pompeu Fabra University and currently works as the Marketing and Sales director at the Rafa Nadal academy.
Rafael Nadal opens up about the harsh reality of injury and his ‘race against time’
Rafael Nadal recently gave fans an intimate account of his struggles with injury during his time on the tennis court. The Spaniard sat down with the BBC for an interview and detailed how his career felt like a ‘race against time’, explaining,
“Tennis became a race against time. Always having the doubt in my head of, ‘how long can I last with this foot?’ I never knew how long my career would last. I always thought, ‘maybe it’s the last year, so there’s no time to stop’.”
He went on to add that his condition forced him to stay ‘over-positive’ and that his suffering was less that his passion, saying,
“I had to stay over-positive, over-determined, always ready to try to find a solution to keep being competitive and find a way to be on court again. I went through, a couple of times in my career, a long process of injuries, but I think I was ready to accept that moment, to tolerate the frustration and to keep working with hope and passion. The key was the suffering was less than my passion and my happiness for what I was doing.”
Rafael Nadal turned pro in 2001. Over the course of the next two decades, he went on to establish himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all-time, winning 22 Grand Slams and being ranked No.1 in the world 209 weeks.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
Edited by Riddhi Acharya
