"Baby Rafa loves football just like dad" "Interaction I didn't know I needed" - Rafael Nadal's son playing football with Jannik Sinner delights fans

Rafael Nadal's son playing football with Jannik Sinner delighted tennis fans online.

Both Sinner and Nadal are currently in California for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The Italian has had a remarkable start to the season, winning all 12 of his matches since the beginning of the year. He has won both the tournaments he has participated in this year - the Australian Open and the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam.

Sinner will kick off his Indian Wells campaign in the second round against Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis, following a first-round bye. On the other hand, Nadal made a long-awaited return to the tennis circuit at the Brisbane International after a year-long hiatus. He suffered a muscle tear during the tournament, forcing him to withdraw from the Australian Open and the Qatar Open.

After his setback, Rafael Nadal participated in the Netflix Slam exhibition in Las Vegas, where he faced off against Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated him 3-6, 6-4, 14-12 to claim the trophy. The former World No. 1 will begin his Indian Wells campaign against Canada's Milos Raonic in the first round.

Meanwhile, Sinner was recently spotted playing football with Nadal's son just ahead of the commencement of his campaign at Tennis Paradise.

The video of the Italian bonding with the little boy delighted tennis fans, who took to social media to express their joy. One fan noted that Nadal's love for football seems to have rubbed off on his son.

"Baby Rafa loves football just like his dad," a fan posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Another fan expressed how heartwarming the interaction between Sinner and Nadal's son was.

"The interaction I didn't know I needed," the fan posted.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

Jannik Sinner will face Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round at Indian Wells 2024

Jannik Sinner at the 2024 ABN AMRO Open

Jannik Sinner is set to kick off his Indian Wells campaign against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.

Kokkinakis came to California following a quarterfinal run at the Los Cabos Open. He defeated the likes of Jack Draper and Dan Evans before falling to Alexander Zverev in the last eight. The Australian has started his Indian Wells journey with a convincing straight-sets win (6-3, 7-5) over Marcos Giron.

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner is currently enjoying a purple patch in his career. Undefeated this season, he has already clinched two titles.

Jannik Sinner will face Thanasi Kokkinakis at Tennis Paradise for the fourth time in his career. He has previously defeated him in all three of their encounters. Their last encounter was at the Italian Open where the Italian emerged victorious with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-4.