Eugenie Bouchard amused by Rafael Nadal's reaction speed during battle with bug at United Cup

Rafael Nadal has produced another funny yet adorable moment that has left the entire tennis world, including Canadian player Eugenie Bouchard, in splits.

During one of Spain's recent matches in Sydney at the United Cup, the 36-year-old legend was sitting on the bench to root for his teammates when he was disturbed by a bug. Unaware that he was on Ken Rosewall Arena's big screen at the time, Nadal attempted to crush the bug with his hands at breakneck speed, drawing an instant reaction of laughter from spectators who watched the moment unfold.

"Rafa's under attack," said the commentator. The 22-time Grand Slam champion soon realized that everyone saw him and couldn't help but smile in embarrassment as the cheers from the crowd grew louder for him. Impressed by his lightning-fast reflexes, World No. 327 Bouchard took to social media to react to the incident.

"How quick is his reaction tho," Bouchard tweeted.

Spain were drawn into Group D alongside Australia and Great Britain. With a subpar performance against both teams, Spain failed to advance to the next round from their group as they lost 3-2 against Australia and 4-1 against Great Britain. Nadal himself experienced a devastating start to his 2023 season as he lost the first two matches of the season for the first time in his career.

While Cameron Norrie defeated the Spaniard 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Alex de Minaur secured his first win against the Mallorcan by beating him 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

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Rafael Nadal appeals to United Cup for a change in format

Rafael Nadal during his match Against Alex de Minaur

In a press conference after losing to Alex de Minaur on Monday, Rafael Nadal raised concerns regarding the format of the mixed-team tournament, the United Cup. Even before Monday's scheduled matches between Spain and Australia were played, Great Britain had already qualified from Group D for the next round.

The World No. 2 suggested that if three teams are playing, the loser of the first fixture should ideally compete with the third team to keep things interesting.

"The competition is great. Idea is great. It's not great that today, we are playing for nothing," he said. "I really believe it's the first year of this competition, so that's the kind of thing that needs to be fixed to improve and to make it more interesting for everyone. I really believe that in a group of three, the loser of the first tie needs to play with the team that didn't play yet, because that makes the competition much more interesting."