3 occasions when Rafael Nadal nearly smashed his racquet

Rafael Nadal is among the greatest tennis players of all time. He has had an extraordinary career so far with 22 Grand Slam singles titles to his name, a number yet to be matched by any other man.

The Spaniard has mesmerized spectators all over the world with his style of tennis and is just as well-known for his classy demeanor on and off the court. The Spaniard is particularly admired for never breaking a racquet throughout his career, something which even his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have done on a few occasions.

Tennis players often lose their cool during matches and smash racquets, but the King of Clay has shown an admirable amount of discipline and self-control to have never resorted to this during a match throughout his extensive career.

However, there have been a few rare moments when he came close to smashing his racquet but decided against doing so. On that note, let’s take a look at three such incidents.

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#1 Training session during the 2009 Miami Masters

The closest Rafael Nadal might have ever come to breaking his racquet was in a practice session during the 2009 Miami Masters. Immediately after serving, the Spaniard swung his racquet to the ground.

The King of Clay was seeded first at the 2009 Miami Masters and reached the quarterfinals following straight-set wins over Teymuraz Gabashvili, Stan Wawrinka and Federico Gil. He then faced sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro and the Argentine won the opening set 6-4. Nadal managed to win the second 6-3 but del Potro held his nerve and won the decider 7-6(3) to book his place in the semifinals.

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#2 Training session at the 2022 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal scripted a special story at the 2022 Australian Open by winning the tournament despite being two sets down in the final against Daniil Medvedev. The Spaniard also gave the fans a humorous moment during one of his training sessions early in the tournament.

Nadal was practising in Melbourne and looked like he would smash his racquet after seemingly mis-hitting a forehand. However, the King of Clay ended up not doing so and had a good laugh about it.

The Spaniard won a then-record 21st Major by defeating Medvedev 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the final. He extended it by winning his 22nd at the French Open.

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#3 Training session at the 2022 US Open

Rafael Nadal training ahead of the 2022 US Open

Rafael Nadal had another moment in 2022 when he feigned a racquet smash, during a training session at the US Open. The Spaniard was hitting in New York and appeared to smash his racquet after a forehand. However, he stopped once again and gave a cheeky smile to the cameras before resuming.

The King of Clay reached the fourth round of the US Open with wins over Rinky Hijikata, Fabio Fognini and Richard Gasquet. However, he was beaten 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 by eventual semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.