Rafael Nadal and his obsession with rituals. Do you know them all?

Rafael Nadal is one of the best tennis players in history, no doubt about it. He has millions of fans all over the world, but at the same time there are many who may not, especially because of his lengthy rituals. But the Spanish tennis player cannot function without them. Do you know them all?

“When I do these things, it means I’m focused,” Nadal describes his rituals in his autobiography. Tennis players, indeed sportsmen in general, have many rituals. Some footballers, for example, always put on one pad first, hockey players always enter the ice with the same foot.

For tennis players, Rafael Nadal rules all the credentials. The native of Mallorca is obsessed with rituals and can no longer be imagined without them. He does them all regularly in the same order. What are they?

The ice shower

Rafa’s rituals start before the match. 45 minutes before he takes the court, he takes an ice shower to wake up his body. “It’s a breaking point, a state from which there is no return. Under the cold water, I awaken my strength and vigour. From this exact moment on, I am a different person, all my senses are heightened,” describes Nadal.

Preparation from physiotherapists

After a shower, Rafa gets dressed and his team gets into action. “Then my physiotherapist bandages my left leg, while I prepare my six rackets for the match. I put a black bandage on each one, then a white one. Then I get dressed, go to the bathroom, wet my hair, put on a headband. Exactly in that order. I do everything carefully, slowly,” reveals Nadal.

Pulling up his socks

Another of Rafa’s obsessions. His Nike socks have to be pulled up exactly level with his trainers. He puts them on in the locker room, then checks them on the court.

Getting on the court

You can see him like this before every match – and you probably won’t see him any other way. Nadal enters the court with one racket in his left hand and five more in a bag he carries over his right shoulder. He walks to the bench, where he takes off his jacket to face the stands. And the most famous ritual follows.

The bottles in the same position

When you say Nadal’s rituals, almost everyone thinks of his lined-up bottles. Rafa has two bottles each time, one with water, one with an ionic drink. He takes a sip first of the ionic drink, then of the water, each time in the same order. Then he places them on the ground in front of his bench. Each time they must be in the same position and the label facing the court.

Bouncing during the toss

When the two players meet at the umpire’s table before the match to determine by lot who will start serving, Nadal jumps each time. In every match without exception. He then runs to his baseline.

The pre-serve adjustment

Another of Nadal’s famous rituals that he does before every serve and never misses. Rafa pings the ball against the ground with his racket when he serves, first pulling up his shorts with his right hand. He then pulls his shirt up, first on his left shoulder, then on his right. He then adjusts his hair behind his right ear, touches his nose and adjusts his hair behind his left ear. Only then does he reach out for the submission.

Wiping with a towel

After each exchange, Rafa must absolutely wipe himself with a towel. He wipes the sweat from his face, his hands and the handle of his racket. Due to the coronavirus situation, players are now not given towels by the servers, but have to fetch their own in the corner of the court.

One interesting thing to note about the Australian Open, which is currently underway:: The vast majority of players wipe themselves and throw the towel back into place. But not Nadal, who flattens the towel and places it exactly on the holder, it must be stretched as tight as possible and not bent anywhere.

Avoiding the lines

the 35-year-old Spaniard never steps on a line outside the game. In addition, he must step into every square with his right foot. If his stride does not work out, he calmly stops to step with his right foot.

Replacements

If there is an exchange after a game and the players cross at the net, Nadal will always let his opponent pass first. This is in every situation. Even if he finishes the game at the net and is thus closer to the bench, he will wait for his opponent to cross to his bench before walking to the spot. At the same time, he always makes sure that he gets off the bench after his opponent.

Source: Essentialy Sports, Youtube