Former World No. 1 players Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe and Carlos Moya came together for an exhibition match at the launch of World No. 4 Nadal’s tennis academy in Majorca, Spain. Partnering young Spanish talent Simon Solbas, Nadal played well for a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 win against the older legends, against whom they dug deep for a closely fought tie-break.
But the match was memorable for more reasons than just the tennis. Nadal was in the middle of a shot to John McEnroe, who was partnering Moya on the other side of the net, when the 30-year-old heard a mother in the audience calling out to her young daughter, who was missing.
Nadal and McEnroe are both known to be exceedingly particular about a pin-drop silence on the court while they play, but the kind-hearted King of Clay made an exception for the unnamed woman who was clearly in distress. She had lost her daughter, who appears to be about four or five years old, and was calling out loudly for her.
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Mid-serve when the mother cried out for her child, Nadal called for the match to be halted as the players and the crowd all came together to search for the girl, with security personnel looking on through the stands.
Searching for the girl from the nets, Nadal smiled as the crowd helped find the young child, who was just as distressed as her mother. Crying copiously until her mother arrived to pick her up, the young girl was comforted by the crowd in the stands around her as all the attention shifted towards reuniting mother and daughter.
The relieved mother smiled through tears at the Spanish ace, who acknowledged her with a grin and a wave.
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