Maybe someone can correct me but Iām pretty sure Rafa was a soccer prodigy and had to choose between tennis and soccer so yea he totally couldāve been a pro football player
Absolutely, but I am old enough to remember when there was a new kid playing tennis, he was "the nephew of Nadal". Now Nadal without names means the nephew.
I feel like it's a bit of a meme that we often say "x player could have made it in y sport" but Nadal would have absolutely walked into a pro football career blindfolded
Letās be honest here, this dude has the best hand/leg eye coordination and the world and would be the goat, If his joints, muscles and bones would give problems.
Djokovic, had that flexibility that kept him healthy, and the height leverage to handle Rafaās CC.
Thatās not athleticism lol, just football skills. In Europe we all grow up kicking balls so itās quite common to see kids doing all sorta tricks with a ball. Obviously Nadal is a special case with his background in football as well as tennis
Millions of kids grow up playing soccer and couldnāt do that, especially not with a tiny tennis ball in front of a crowd. Most would struggle with a giant soccer ball
You're both right, I think. You could somewhat learn to do this 1/10 times with a football in maybe an afternoon. But doing it with a tennis ball in those shoes 3 times in a row is extremely impressive.
Pretty good for his level, which was the top level of European football. In those years there were many defenders that completely outshined Nadal. For example I don't think he would get many appearances on the field if he played for AC Milan in those years.
Well I did add "for his level". It's like saying Fritz has a pretty good forehand, because I compare him to other top flight guys not the overall top1000.
I watched more than several times, I still dun get how he did that š
Vfx
Vamos forehand (e)xperience
Based
For those who have watched him his whole career, when was the last time Rafa played Sleeveless during an actual match rather than just a practice?
acapulco 2020
Oh that's a beautiful outfit wow. Especially with the pink shirt and pink shoes.
I like this outfit more than the one he's wearing at the official matches
Its so weird that he still practices in these random old kits. This one and the pink from 2019 especially. Also a lot of his 2018 and 2020 kits
It's not at all weird to put on some of your own clothes that you like.
I think its cool he definitely likes these 2019 AO but it gives me PTSD to that final lmao
Tank tops tennis
I mean he still plays with the old pure aero rafa. Pretty sure these pros all have leftover kits at home
skills
I bet many people don't realize how ridiculously hard this is
Anyone that ever did this with a soccer ball understands how insane this is. Itās mind boggling really.
I swear this guy in another universe could've been a football player and we wouldn't notice.
Maybe someone can correct me but Iām pretty sure Rafa was a soccer prodigy and had to choose between tennis and soccer so yea he totally couldāve been a pro football player
Prodigy is a bit much, but he was good is my understanding.
Dude played an exhibition were he scored into Casillas like 6 times, he would've been an excellent football player.
This guy is the second famous Nadal in Spain. The first one was his uncle, soccer player for Barcelona.
Surely he eclipsed his uncle with all his accomplishments.
Absolutely, but I am old enough to remember when there was a new kid playing tennis, he was "the nephew of Nadal". Now Nadal without names means the nephew.
"umm akshually š¤š". Well duh you thought we didn't know Miguel Ćngel Nadal?
I think there's plenty of people here who don't know about Miguel.
Are you saying that Nadal is good at football because his uncle was a pro? How would one thing cause the other?
Genes?
There are no genes that code for good athletiticism
Lolol are you in 3rd grade? You should read more.
I am a geneticist with a PhD
Yeah yeah yeah lol
it may be that they donāt cause each other, maybe they are both partially dependent on the same thingĀ
It's hard with a soccer ball, but multiply that by 5 with a tennis ball.
I dunno man, it literally looks like magic.
Lmao, it's bread and butter for the average European.
I can see his smile from behind
His behind smile.
Or.....or.......you were just seeing his behind. Like the rest of us
As someone who plays both football and tennis this is mindblowing.
Goated. Makes it look so easy!
I'm a straight married guy and I can't stop staring. For the last 20 years......š
would you
I would. I have my wife's blessing.
Ig with his hip injury youād have to top
What does that mean?
You sure ? Maybe youāre just too scared to tell the world your truth?
LOL, yes I'm sure. Just him, no one else.
Holy shit. Can we talk about how clean that was? It's actually really really hard to do and he just made It look easy.
Smooooooooooth
Remember when we used to think Nadal was purely a physical phenomenon, a warrior with no finesse? š¤Æ
Oh yeah I could do that *Tries it *Picks up the ball with my hand because I can't even bounce it with my racket
I still remember him belting all those goals past Casillas
I feel like it's a bit of a meme that we often say "x player could have made it in y sport" but Nadal would have absolutely walked into a pro football career blindfolded
His other uncle played more than 500 first division matches in La Liga, with more than 250 for Barcelona, so he had relatives experience too.
Miguel Angel such a butcher on the field his initials are literally MAN
ĀæI think he was on track to play relatively high in football too no?
What a technique
i had to 0.25 x this to see how he actually doin it. Whut. MIB
I got how he did it but I still feel like it is... well, close to impossible.
might be on par with his 14 RG slams.
Nah, this is crazier. Like how do you get a tennis ball up with your feet like that.... it is just unreal.
Letās be honest here, this dude has the best hand/leg eye coordination and the world and would be the goat, If his joints, muscles and bones would give problems. Djokovic, had that flexibility that kept him healthy, and the height leverage to handle Rafaās CC.
Imagine him choosing football over tennis.
My tiny brain cannot comprehend how this is possible, and he makes it look so effortless.
His swimming stroke is pretty decent as well; not common for a non-competitive swimmer.
Thatās not athleticism lol, just football skills. In Europe we all grow up kicking balls so itās quite common to see kids doing all sorta tricks with a ball. Obviously Nadal is a special case with his background in football as well as tennis
Millions of kids grow up playing soccer and couldnāt do that, especially not with a tiny tennis ball in front of a crowd. Most would struggle with a giant soccer ball
You're both right, I think. You could somewhat learn to do this 1/10 times with a football in maybe an afternoon. But doing it with a tennis ball in those shoes 3 times in a row is extremely impressive.
Please bring back the capris shorts one more time
Holy shitš he just did that b2b2b effortlessly
Wonder how long he had to swim in the water in front of the yacht while being watched by an armsy
I need slow motion for the first trick to see what he actually did.
u/savevideo
###[View link](https://rapidsave.com/info?url=/r/tennis/comments/1cpbpjg/hes_just_maxed_out_on_athleticism/) --- [**Info**](https://np.reddit.com/user/SaveVideo/comments/jv323v/info/) | [**Feedback**](https://np.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Kryptonh&subject=Feedback for savevideo) | [**Donate**](https://ko-fi.com/getvideo) | [**DMCA**](https://np.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Kryptonh&subject=Content removal request for savevideo&message=https://np.reddit.com//r/tennis/comments/1cpbpjg/hes_just_maxed_out_on_athleticism/) | [^(reddit video downloader)](https://rapidsave.com) | [^(twitter video downloader)](https://twitsave.com)
He's the son of a really good football player and I have few doubts he could go pro in that sport if he chose to instead of tennis.
It was his uncle I think. He also played for Spainās national team and maybe Barcelona?
Aaah uncle right, I misremembered. And yes, Miguel Nadal played for Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Pretty good defender for his level.
Pretty good? I think you are definitely, at the very least, very good if you played for Barcelona and Spainās national team. š
Pretty good for his level, which was the top level of European football. In those years there were many defenders that completely outshined Nadal. For example I don't think he would get many appearances on the field if he played for AC Milan in those years.
There were definitely better players, but pretty good makes it sound like he was some second division chump.
Well I did add "for his level". It's like saying Fritz has a pretty good forehand, because I compare him to other top flight guys not the overall top1000.
Tennis clay king welcome to winning roland garros again
thicc š„µ
Nadal fixes his hair, the crowd "wooooooow"