5 wholesome Rafael Nadal moments that will surely bring a smile to your face

Rafael Nadal is one of the greatest players, if not the greatest, to ever grace a tennis court. The Spaniard has had an extraordinary career so far, winning 92 singles titles. These include a record 22 Grand Slam titles. Nadal has achieved immense success in the game despite battling a lot of injury problems throughout his career.

The Spaniard has had an extraordinary season so far, winning the Australian Open and the French Open. In the former, he beat Daniil Medvedev in the final despite being two sets down.

Nadal did not have the best of preparations for the French Open as he suffered a flare-up of the Muller-Weiss syndrome during the Italian Open. However, he still went on to defeat the likes of Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud to win the clay-court Major for the 14th time.

Rafael Nadal is one of the most loved players in the history of tennis and this isn't just because of his success. The 36-year-old is well known for his decency and humility on and off the court and has often shown how much of a class act he is.

So without any further ado, let’s take a look at five wholesome Rafael Nadal moments that will surely bring a smile to your face.

#1 Helping volunteers clean up after Mallorca floods in 2018

San Llorenc, a town in Mallorca, was severely affected by a devastating flood in 2018 which resulted in 13 people losing their lives while many were injured.

The King of Clay did his part for the community in a number of ways. He was seen helping residents clean out the mud from their houses and opened the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar for people who were looking for shelter. Nadal also donated a sum of €1 million.

This was one of many instances where the King of Clay showed his class, humility and generosity off the tennis court.

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#2 Match for Africa promotional video in 2010

The first edition of the Match for Africa series of exhibition matches took place in 2010 when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal played one another in Zurich and Caja Majica in Spain.

The shooting of the event's promotional video was a memorable one, as several takes had to be done before both legends of the game said their lines perfectly. While shooting, Federer and Nadal often burst out laughing.

Credit Suisse uploaded a video of this on YouTube and it gained over 10 million views. The inaugural edition of Match for Africa raised almost $4 million for charity.

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#3 Meeting a ball kid and her family after accidentally hitting her on the head

During the 2020 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal accidentally hit a ball girl during his second-round match against Federico Delbonis. The Spaniard tried to return the Argentine's wide serve with his solid forehand but instead hit the girl on the head.

Nadal instantly went to check on the girl, Annita Birchall. He apologized to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The then World No. 1 went on to win the match 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-1 and after this, he met Birchall and her family, chatting with them for a while.

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#4 Saving a young fan from getting crushed during the US Open in 2019

Rafael Nadal was signing autographs for his young fans ahead of his third-round match against Chung Hyeon at the 2019 US Open. The Spaniard spotted a young boy who was crying because he felt uncomfortable.

The boy seemed to have some trouble breathing and Nadal made sure he was alright before signing his baseball cap.

The King of Clay later said in an interview that what he did was very normal.

"I think, as always when somebody who is famous does stuff like this, seems like it’s amazing, but for me personally is just a very normal thing."

Nadal eventually went on to win the US Open by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final in five sets.

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#5 Waking up a journalist who fell asleep during his press conference

During the 2019 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal was involved in a hilarious incident when he noticed Italian journalist Ubaldo Scanagatta with his eyes closed. The Spaniard had a laugh before saying:

"It's not interesting today."

All the reporters in the room burst out laughing before Nadal said:

"Buongiorno Ubaldo!"

The Spaniard also jokingly stated that Scanagatta closed his eyes only to focus on what he was saying. The laughter in the room woke up the journalist who, caught in an embarrassing situation, put his little nap down to jetlag.