There’s more to Rafael Nadal than just his muscular brand of tennis. The world No.1 Spaniard once again showed the softer side of his personality on a visit to the tennis academy for underprivileged children, set up by the Rafael Nadal Foundation, at Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh.
Rafa, who lost in the Shanghai Masters pre-quarterfinals last week, arrived at the Bangalore airport on Sunday morning and drove to Anantapur. The quick stopover was a hush-hush affair and the champion didn’t even seek security cover from the local police.
“Nadal visited the tennis academy at the Rural Development Trust’s (RDT) sports stadium. He and his family were involved in setting up that academy and I think he came to have a look,” Anantapur district collector Dr B Janardhan Reddy said.
Last month, Rafa’s mother Anna Maria Nadal Parera and his sister Maria Isabel had also made a visit here. The academy has three courts and Anna Maria plans to call it the Nadal Tennis School.