"Rafa, I love you but NFTs are scams" - Tennis fans react to Rafael Nadal collaborating with a Non-Fungible Tokens platform

A couple of days after Rafael Nadal defeated World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev to win the 2022 Australian Open, he announced his collaboration with Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) platform Autograph.

Co-founded by American NFL legend Tom Brady, the Autograph aims to bridge the gap between the biggest stars in sports/entertainment and their fans by creating digital collections and experiences. And soon after Nadal won his 22nd Grand Slam title in Paris last month, the Autograph announced its decision to honor the special milestone by launching El Rey: The Rafael Nadal Collection.

There are two types of NFTs in the collection. The first are the '22' collectibles and the second are the 2,800 Rafael Nadal: El Rey Mystery Containers. These containers include one of six trading cards, three embossed and three in color. The cards are called The Prodigy, The Master and The King.

However, not many are happy with one of the greatest players in tennis history promoting something like NFTs, a matter on which most of the world stands divided. Fans are calling out the legend, expecting him to end the collaboration.

Here are a few fan reactions to Nadal's latest tweet.

"For all the trouble Novak’s been in the last year, I’m glad he never attached his name to an obvious scam like NFTs," a user wrote.

"Your regular reminder that NFTs are dumb and should be fired into the sun," a tweet read.

"I am once again saying it's even more frustrating when you know Rafa wouldn't be able to explain what an NFT is if his life depended on it," another tweet read.

"I’m blocking Autograph. Rafa, send out a better tweet, you're better than that," a user posted.

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Rafael Nadal's Calendar Slam dream ended in an unfortunate manner

Nadal is undefeated at this year's Majors.

Struggling with abdomen issues for a few days, Rafael Nadal was spotted wearing athletic tape just below his stomach when he was in London for the Wimbledon Championships. The Spaniard returned to the grasscourt Major after three years, his last match coming against Roger Federer in the semifinals in 2019.

During Nadal's quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz, the injury deteriorated, forcing him to take a medical timeout in the second set. There was a significant decline in his movement and serve speed, but he continued till the end, winning the match in a thrilling five-set encounter.

A day later, reports suggested that Nadal had a seven millimeter muscle tear in the abdominal area. The injury forced him to withdraw from the event a day before he was scheduled to face Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals, thus ending his hopes of winning the elusive Calendar Grand Slam.