The popularity of Rafael Nadal knows no bounds. Even as the Spaniard is out of the Indian Wells 2024, owing to persistent issues due to injury, his reputation precedes him. In a video on Instagram, shared by the BNP Paribas Open page, that’s doing the rounds, many famous female tennis players name ‘Rafael Nadal’ as their preferred choice of ‘Mixed Doubles’ partner. When it’s Novak Djokovic’s turn, the Serbian too names him and quickly realizes his mistake.
Probably going with the flow, Novak Djokovic names ‘Rafael Nadal’ as his preferred mixed doubles partner. He immediately realizes his goof-up and bursts out laughing. In that spirit, Djokovic quickly apologizes to Nadal and says that it was a simple mistake and that he wasn’t trying to be funny.
“Uh! Nadal,” said Djokovic. After being rectified, he followed, “Oh Mixed Doubles! (laughs) I didn’t hear the ‘Mixed Doubles’. Sorry Rafa, no it was, it was not a joke, I just didn’t hear.”
Some of the other female stars who mentioned the 22-time Grand Slam winner’s name are Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula. Although the video was turning out as a tribute of sorts for Nadal, it was Djokovic’s mistake that caught the attention of the tennis world and it spread like wildfire.
A look into Rafael Nadal’s ‘Doubles’ and ‘Mixed Doubles’ career
Rafael Nadal has been offered to play ‘Mixed Doubles’ in exhibition matches before. In 2022, he accepted an invitation to play mixed doubles from Argentine legend Gabriela Sabatini. It was Sabatini who challenged Nadal on Instagram, which the Spaniard politely accepted. He found it difficult to find a partner for Casper Ruud, his opponent at the time.
In another event, a charity match for Ukraine, Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek teamed up for a mixed doubles match against John McEnroe and Coco Gauff. It was a peace exhibition match that raised awareness and provided aid on humanitarian grounds to those people who were affected by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It was a dream-come-true moment for Swiatek to partner with Nadal, but for her, to help those in need in Ukraine was more important.
Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek won the match 10-8 in the end in a tie-breaker. These are two of the rare occasions where Nadal played mixed doubles. His doubles career otherwise, is bright and illustrious. He won an Olympic gold in 2016 and has won 11 career titles. It includes 5 Davis Cup wins, and 3 ATP World Tour 1000 Masters.
While he is out of tennis now indefinitely, including the Miami Masters, Rafael Nadal could be back at the Roland Garros.
