Rafael Nadal’s wife Maria Francisca Perello opens up on the goals of the Rafael Nadal Foundation
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Rafael Nadal, Maria Francisca Perello
Rafael Nadal has been one of the most generous and well-mannered players on tour. He helps youngsters learn the values and never shies away from sharing tips. He has also tried to inculcate those values in his Rafael Nadal Foundation center and academy. The Rafael Nadal Foundation Center helps people to learn the virtue of life and sports. They also teach people the study habits, healthy living, hygiene and nutrition. Overall the foundation is uplifting society and helps kids grow with education and sports going hand in hand.
While the 21-time Grand Slam winner is always busy with tours and matches here and there, the foundation centers are taken care by his wife, Maria Francisca Perello, who is also the director of the organisation. She shares how giving back to society is something that they do consciously. Perello highlights how sports and education are the two pillars of the foundation and they work in a method of intervention to help the individuals gain prosperity in their journey.
“Sport and education are the main and common elements of all the initiatives that we carry out at the Rafa Nadal Foundation. Both are our fundamental pillars, and on them, we base our method of intervention. They are clear facilitators for all people to go as far as they propose thanks to their transforming power,” Perello said in a recent interview with Elle.
Perello was then quizzed about the message she and Rafael Nadal wants to spread through the ‘Rafael Nadal Foundation Center’ and to that she highlighted how they make people believe that sports is a tool to seek goodness and escape from bad things in life. She replied, “The practice of sports is happiness, it is escaping from the bad, but, above all, it is education for life, it is self-improvement and a source of opportunities.”
Rafael Nadal all set to return on tour at the Madrid Open
Lastly, when asked about their ways of transmitting values through education and sports, Perello shared an anecdote from Brazilian philosopher Paulo Freire. She said, “Paulo Freire already said it,’ Education does not change the world, it changes the people who are going to change the world». And sport is an international language. It brings ideologies closer, breaks down borders, unites, inspires, motivates and directly affects the integral emotional well-being of the person. We have all known stories up close.”
Rafael Nadal is all set to make a comeback at the Madrid Open after missing out on a couple of events due to a stress fracture on his ribs. He felt the pain first at the Indian wells semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz. Still, he played through it and progressed to the finals where he lost to Taylor Fritz in the finals. He missed the Miami Open followed by Monte Carlo Masters and also failed to defend his title in Barcelona. He will be back for the Madrid Open as he looks to get as many games as possible ahead of the Roland Garros.
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Atrayo Bhattacharya
(193 Articles Published)