Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel reacts to Padel stars Martita Ortega and Gemma Triay Pons training at Spaniard's academy ahead of Hexagon Cup 2024

Rafael Nadal’s sister Maribel recently expressed her admiration for two of the best padel players in the world, Martita Ortega and Gemma Triay Pons, who are training at the Spaniard's Academy ahead of the 2024 Hexagon Cup.

Padel is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis and squash and is very popular in Spain and some Latin American countries. Ortega and Triay are the current World No. 6 and 3, respectively.

They are also part of the Rafa Nadal Academy powered by the Richard Mille team, which is one of the eight franchises that will compete in the Hexagon Cup, a new and innovative padel tournament that will take place in Madrid from January 31 to February 4, 2024.

Rafa Nadal Academy’s official Instagram account shared a few pictures of the training session on Saturday, December 23, which showed Ortega and Triay posing with the Spaniard and receiving guidance from his coach Carlos Moya.

"A very special visit! 💪🏼 @martits14 and @hexagoncup_! Already thinking about the @gemmatriay… 💪🏼. How about you guys? We wait for you at the Madrid Arena from January 31 to February 4 encouraging the @rafandalacademy Team Powered by Richard Mille! LET'S GO!!" the post was captioned.

Maribel commented on the post with a string of heart-eye emojis.

"😍😍😍"

Rafael Nadal's sister Maribel on Instagram

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"Going to be very difficult at the beginning" - Rafael Nadal on his 2024 comeback

Rafael Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open

After a nearly 12-month hiatus from tennis, Rafael Nadal expressed his hope to play without pressure when he resumes his career.

The 37-year-old’s last outing was at the Australian Open in January 2023. He beat Jack Draper in the first round but suffered a hip injury and a straight-set defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round.

The hip injury subsequently got worse and required surgery, forcing the Spaniard to end his 2023 season early. He also suggested that he might retire from professional tennis after 2024.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion recently revealed that he will start his final journey at the Brisbane International, beginning on December 31, 2023.

The Spaniard said he wants to avoid putting too much pressure on himself in the early stages of his comeback.

"I expect from myself not to expect anything. This is the truth. To have the ability not to demand from myself what I have demanded throughout my career," he said in a video message on X (formerly Twitter).

"I really hope is to be able to not do that, to accept that things are going to be very difficult at the beginning and forgive myself if things go wrong at the beginning, which is a very big possibility. I’ve been afraid to announce things because in the end it’s been a year without competing and it’s a hip operation. But what worries me the most is not the hip, it’s everything else," he added.