'Like everyone else, confinement has taken its toll on me' - Rafael Nadal to Spanish documentary crew

Spain was one of the worst affected countries during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, as thousands of people lost their lives. Even those who didn't contract the virus were affected in a multitude of ways, and among them was one of Spain’s most famous sons - Rafael Nadal.

But over the last few months, the situation in some parts of the country has been on the mend. And that is being documented by a group of well-known Spanish TV personalities - Cristina Castano, Teresa Riott and Sergio Guzman.

Rafa Nadal: «El confinamiento me ha pasado factura» https://t.co/k5bZNGi8bC

— ABC.es (@abc_es) August 7, 2020

‘Go Spain’ is the name of the documentary that is being filmed around the country to showcase Spain’s post-COVID revival. And Rafael Nadal, along with his Academy, forms a part of the movie which is aimed at restoring Spain’s tourism industry.

Filming recently took place at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, which saw Rafael Nadal himself interacting with the cast and crew - but with health and safety precautions in place. During the interaction, Nadal also bonded with the filmmakers over their shared life experiences.

I have been able to think about how we can do things: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal has found positivity during confinement as well

Tennis is obviously a big part of Rafael Nadal’s life, and being away from the sport for more than five months has taken a toll. The Spaniard has pulled out of this year’s US Open over health and safety concerns, and to make matters worse, the Madrid Open has also been cancelled.

Rafael Nadal is now left mulling over whether he should take part in the French Open, with the very real possibility that he may not get to play in 2020 at all. But despite these setbacks, Nadal prefers to look on the ‘positive side’, as he explained to Riott and Castano.

"Like everyone else, confinement has taken its toll on me, but I have also taken a positive side from it: the time I have been able to have to think about how we can do things better and how we can build the world we want,” Nadal said.

The Rafael Nadal Academy students during a trip to Australia

Sport is being used as one of the selling points in this documentary. And given that Rafael Nadal is one of the most famous Spanish sportspersons around the world, it makes absolute sense for the documentary to feature him and his academy.

The state-of-the-art facility will no doubt be a prominent feature in the final cut due to its world-class standards and infrastructure. Nadal even explained the very essence of the academy that he so fervently cherishes.

“I have been young and I know how difficult it was for my parents to help me try to fulfill my dream. In the end it was school on the one hand, training on the other, tournaments on the other side, which was a lot of things and very complicated and it took a lot of time,” he said, while pointing out how the academy solves that problem for the students.

Rafael Nadal ensured the wearing of masks

Last but not the least, the filming crew also observed Rafael Nadal’s spot-on social distancing skills; he not only wore a mask, but also personally kept a distance at all times. In fact, the crew also revealed how Nadal expressed his fear of getting infected.