Rafael Nadal reveals his best birthday present: "A trip with all my family... My dad, mom, 4 grandparents"

Rafael Nadal recently disclosed the best gift he has gotten while fielding questions from a group of children in Barcelona.

Nadal played his first tournament in more than three months at this week's Barcelona Open. The Spaniard was victorious on his return, winning his first-round encounter against Italy's Flavio Cobolli in straight sets. However, he struggled with his physical conditioning during his next match, losing 5-7, 1-6 to the fourth seed Alex de Minaur.

Despite the 22-time Major winner's unceremonious campaign at the ATP 500 tournament, he still sat down for a fun Q&A session with some kids as part of a media interaction for the event. One of them quizzed the 37-year-old on his best birthday present, which elicited an interesting response.

Rafael Nadal claimed that a trip to Egypt some years back was up there with the best birthday gifts he had received. The Spaniard was especially fond of those times, as not only his parents but both his maternal and paternal grandparents also accompanied him to the country.

"Best birthday present... I do not know. I think one of my [best birthday] gifts was a trip to Egypt with all my family," Nadal said. "My dad, my mom, my four grandparents and well, the whole family."

The 12-time Barcelona Open champion was further asked about which cities were on the top of his list to visit. He replied that while he is well-versed with Paris, London, and New York, he would love to take a tour of Rome again. He also maintained that he prefers nature over urban areas.

"Well to be honest, I would like to meet many of the ones I have already been to... I know Paris, London and New York," he said. "I know these more or less well... I have many places to go to return, like Rome."

"And above all, I would love to get to know a little more about the world of nature," he added. "I love nature, eh, I'm more of [a nature guy] on vacation. [It's] a little more adventurous than in cities."

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Rafael Nadal: "I had to leave everything and die, in Paris, let it be what God wants"

Rafael Nadal looks dejected at the Barcelona Open 2024

Rafael Nadal claimed that he intends to go all out during this year's clay court season regardless of his early exit in Barcelona earlier this week.

Speaking to local media following his second-round loss at the ATP 500-level event, the Spaniard maintained that he will go above and beyond to raise his level by the time the French Open is around the corner.

"It wasn't today that I had to leave everything and die, in Paris, let it be what God wants. There I hope to be competitive and there is the moment," Nadal said (via Marca). "I have had the opportunity to say goodbye to Godó by playing."

The 22-time Major winner also asserted that he was satisfied with finally being in good enough physical shape to play competitive matches.

"A week ago I thought I wouldn't play here again. The clear message before the tournament was to prioritize not taking any risks," he added. "The important thing was to be able to play and being on the court is great news."