"I will become a father" - Nadal speaks about his child for the first time
ATP
Rafael Nadal has confirmed that he expects to become a father, ending recent speculation about his private life.
For many weeks, it was rumored that Nadal's wife, Maria Francisca Perello, with whom he has been in a long-term relationship for over ten years and married in 2019, was pregnant. She was spotted with a baby bump while on vacation on a yacht with the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
Nadal has previously made it no secret that he wants to start a family and does not envisage living into his late thirties. But he's regularly refrained from getting drawn into the topic.
Maybe he waited for the right time to make the revelation and finally broke his silence to confirm that the rumor was true. This is significant news in tennis, as Nadal would become the third and final member of the Big Three to have a child.
He will face rivals Roger Federer, who has two sets of twins, and Novak Djokovic, who has two children. In a press conference, Nadal discussed his involvement at this year's Wimbledon and also took time to clarify about his wife's pregnancy.
"If everything goes well, I will become a father. I do not usually talk about my personal life; I'm already exposed in my professional life. I do not know how my life will change because I do not have experience, but I will continue my career when the child is born."- Rafael Nadal
Nadal will be targeting a third Wimbledon title of his career at the All England Club. So far, he has been unbeaten in 14 matches at the Grand Slam level, winning the Australian Open and the French Open in 2022.
But he's not had the perfect preparation this summer on grass as he hasn't played any warm-up tournament and was recently recovering from a foot injury following his record-extending 14th Roland Garros crown.
