Nadal's final charm: son's applause at Six Kings Slam

Former world number one Rafael Nadal’s baby son applauded his father’s drop shot during the Six Kings Slam. The 38-year-old, who has already announced his retirement from professional tennis because of fitness concerns after the upcoming Davis Cup, recently participated in an exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.

Nadal lost in the third-place encounter to Serbia’s legendary player Novak Djokovic in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6. During the match, the legendary Spaniard was applauded by his baby son for a drop shot. The video was released on the social media platform X, which was admired by fans in the tennis community. Nadal, after the match, thanked his wife for helping him throughout his career.

"My wife, Mery, we have been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done,” he said. “I think you have been the perfect travel companion during all these years of my career. To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue.”

Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns throughout his career, but specially in the latter stages which is why he ended up missing six out of eight Grand Slams in the last four two years. The former world number, who is rated amongst the greatest men’s tennis player in the history in the Open era, will finish his career with 22 Grand Slam titles, second-most and only behind Djokovic (24).

Fourteen of those titles came while playing at the Roland Garros which is why he is also known as the ‘King of Clay’. Nadal returned to the court earlier this year after spending nearly 12 months on the sidelines because of a hip injury. However, his return did not go as planned as he has only managed to win 12 out of 19 matches in all competitions and suffered seven defeats in the process.