“I was in love with Britney Spears” – When Rafael Nadal opened up about the American sensation being his 'first celebrity crush'

During the Australian Open in the year 2020, Rafael Nadal revealed that Britney Spears was his first celebrity crush.

Britney Spears was a household name in the United States in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The teen sensation released her debut album, Baby One More Time, in January 1999. Notably, the album sold more than 10 million units in a year. She backed it up with her second studio album, Oops I Did It Again, which came out in May 2000.

Spears dished out one major hit after the other in the first decade of the 21st century. She went on to release seven more albums with the latest one, titled Glory, dropping in 2016.

Born in 1986, Nadal must have been in his early teen years when Spears rose to prominence. During the Australian Open in 2020, he disclosed in an interview that he was head over heels in love with the pop sensation.

"When I was a small kid, I remember Britney Spears at the start, the first. I was in love with Britney Spears," he told the Today Show.

The Spaniard reached as far as the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2020. He lost to Dominic Thiem in a four-setter that witnessed three tiebreaks. The tie ended after four hours and ten minutes with the scoreline reading 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(6) in Thiem's favor.

Thiem finished the tournament as a runner-up after losing to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the final.

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Rafael Nadal on becoming a father: "Having a child at home is always special"

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Rafael Nadal became a father in October 2022. He and his wife Mery Perello welcomed a son, whom the duo named Rafael Nadal Junior. During a recent interview, he opened up about the "special" experience of having a child.

"I have always taken things well. But in that sense, of course having a child at home who is also the first is always special, because of course, it makes you happy in many moments," he told Agencia EFE.

The Spaniard, however, voiced his pragmatic approach to life and stated that he would have been content without a child as well.

"But I think that I would have been fine without it too, because I have accepted and tolerated it well throughout my life. But without a doubt it helps and gives me happiness," he added.