Rafael Nadal jokes that parenting has made him a worse tennis player

Rafael Nadal is approaching his career with some humor. The Spanish legend was recently featured in an episode of “El Hormiguero,” the beloved Spanish talk show, where he opened up about his career and parenting, and how the two have intermingled over the past year.

Nadal opened up about becoming a father and how that has impacted his tennis while speaking with Pablo Motos, one of the show’s co-hosts. “On a sporting level it has changed me drastically,” he said. “I always tell my son, who is already starting to do something: ‘Dad, a potato’, because since he has come into this world I have not won almost any match. That has changed me for the worse, sportingly speaking. But in life, in most things, it has changed me for the better, because in the end I have lost, I have been injured, but whatever happens, coming home and seeing him changes my mood,”

Nadal also spoke about his journey in the Olympics, where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals while playing doubles with Carlos Alcaraz. The twosome were defeated by the U.S. players Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram. “I am very grateful to Paris for having let me live that moment, having given me something that I think is for the rest of my life,” he said, referring to the fact that the Olympics offered him the chance to carry the Olympic torch in a city that has meant so much to him in regards to his tennis.

“I enjoyed the moment and I appreciated it because it is something unique that never comes back. The truth is that I am very grateful to France and Paris,” he said.

Nadal’s vacations this summer
Over the summer, Nadal and his family were spotted spending some time in Ibiza. He was alongside his wife, Mery Perello, and their son, Rafa, with the two photographed aboard his luxurious yacht on the Spanish coast.

Nadal and his wife were photographed riding some jet skis, swimming, and spending some quality time with their little one.