Mallorca honors ‘Adopted Son’ Rafael Nadal with rare distinction for his flood relief efforts in 2018
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is set to be honoured for his assistance in 2018 flood relief efforts
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Rafael Nadal assisting the flood relief efforts in 2018
22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal is set to add another honour to his name after a street in the Sant Llorenc municipality in the Spanish city of Mallorca is named after him. The old Genova street will soon be called ‘Catalan Rafel Nadal’ in honour of the Spaniard’s assistance with flood relief efforts in the city in 2018.
Nadal was quick to give his assistance after the disastrous flooding of Mallorca in October 2018. The water levels in the city reached up to two meters. It led to the death of thirteen people and affected hundreds of others. Many lost their cars and houses. The tennis legend donated €1 million through his foundation to help relief efforts. He also offered to shelter affected people at his Rafa Nadal Academy in the city.
He made the most significant impact when he put on waterproof boots and stepped into the mud-covered roads to help the community. He helped sweep the affected areas. The images of Nadal doing this touched the residents of the city. In October 2021, two years after the tragedy, Nadal was named the adopted son of Sant Llorenc. He received this honour to recognise his help during the floods.
Nadal also approved a request from the municipality to build a statue of him after his 2022 French Open win. The statue was in recognition of his status as one of Mallorca’s most famous citizens. These honours show how much the city’s residents appreciate Nadal as a player and a person. The tennis star’s willingness to selflessly help the people of his birthplace shows his affection for his city.
Related: Arsenal’s manager Mikel Arteta hopes Rafael Nadal to visit the Emirates instead of rivals Tottenham
Rafael Nadal’s 2023 on the court
Nadal’s career has been long and prosperous. He is being recognised for his greatness off the court after entertaining the world for 21 years. His 22nd year in the sport hasn’t gone to plan, however. The Spaniard has struggled with an injury since the Australian Open.
Nadal got off to a bad start this year at the United Cup. The 36-year-old lost to Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur. He remained upbeat, but it was a sign of things to come. He entered the 2023 Australian Open as the favourite despite Novak Djokovic’s return. The defending champion started his campaign against unranked Jack Draper. The match was predicted to be easy for Nadal, but he was stretched by the British youngster and won in four sets. The next game was against Mackenzie McDonald. The American surprisingly won the first set of the game. In the second set, tragedy struck Nadal.
Nadal stopped short during a point and took a medical timeout. He had injured his hip region. Nadal didn’t look too comfortable on his return from the timeout. He fought well, but the injury prevented him from being at his best. Nadal crashed out in the second-round match. The Spaniard later revealed that the hip injury would keep him out for 6-8 weeks. But he is yet to return and is close to dropping out of the ATP top 10 rankings for the first time since he entered those positions in 2005.
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Samarth Srivastava
(139 Articles Published)