Rafael Nadal is set to return to the tennis scene in 2024. However, the Spaniard will also explore an avenue away from tennis in the coming year. Nadal has joined a padel tournament back home, through his Rafa Nadal Academy. Rafael Nadal’s team will participate at the Hexagon Cup from January, held in Madrid.
Rafael Nadal has joined the likes of Andy Murray and Robert Lewandowski in owning a padel team for the tournament. Padel is a new sport on the rise with a lot of players and fans attracted to it, especially in Europe and North America. Hollywood actress Eva Longoria became the latest celebrity to own a team for the inaugural tournament in Madrid as well.
Eva Longoria has always been enthusiastic about sports. The Desperate Housewives actress has a long list of sporting teams that she has invested in. Longoria is already an owner of a pickleball team apart from Liga MX team Necaxa FC and NWSL team Angel City FC. Padel is gaining a lot of popularity worldwide as well. As of November 2021, there were six million registered padel player in Spain alone, compared to just 89,000 in the UK. Longoria announced the formation of her new padel team, naming it ElevenElevenTeamUSA alongside co-owner of the team, USA’s Dani Homades.
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The founders of Formula E, E1 and Extreme E have now taken a step into the Padel market by launching the Hexagon Cup. Three teams of men, women and NextGen players will compete for a prize of £890,000 ($1.12 million) during the tournament.
Eva Longoria is a big Rafael Nadal fan
Hollywood actress Eva Longoria follows tennis a lot and is a big fan of Rafael Nadal. In 2009, Longoria attended the Rafael Nadal vs Lleyton Hewitt match at the French Open.
Now, with both set to compete at the Padel tournament, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. With the Hexagon Cup gaining lots of interest worldwide, fans will be eagerly waiting for the competition to kick off. High-profile sports players will send their teams in the competition, making the inaugural season of the Padel tournament even more interesting.
