"It's tough enough to keep Rafa Jr., I can't deal with that" - Rafael Nadal rules out buying a pet dog for his baby son

Rafael Nadal recently ruled out buying a pet dog for his 18-month-old baby son Rafa Jr. and claimed he doesn't have the energy to raise a pet at the moment.

Nadal recently made his comeback at the Barcelona Open where he suffered a second-round loss to Australia's Alex de Minaur. The Spaniard had been struggling with a recurring hip injury which kept him out of action since the Brisbane International at the beginning of the year.

On the sidelines of the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, Nadal participated in a fun Q&A session hosted by Santiago Gonzalez's kids, Camila and Matias. To begin with, Camila asked.

"Do you have pets?" (translated from Spanish)

"No, I have no pets," Nadal replied.

She then asked him if he would buy Rafa Jr. a dog. Nadal denied having any such plans even though Rafa Jr. is fond of animals.

"We have already seen that Rafita likes dogs very much… you don’t plan to buy one?" Camila inquired.

"Uf! Not at the moment. The truth is that he [Rafa Jr.] loves all animals. But not at the moment. It’s tough enough to keep him, if on the top of that, we have to keep a puppy now, I can’t deal with all that," Nadal responded with a laugh.

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Rafael Nadal doesn't wish for his baby son Rafa Jr. to become a tennis player

Rafael Nadal during a press conference.

Rafael Nadal is already fielding questions about Rafa Jr.'s future career even though his son is yet to turn two.

In a recent interview with LaSexta, the 22-time Grand Slam champion stated that he would prefer Rafa Jr. to pick another sport rather than tennis.

"I would prefer that [my son] practice another sport. It pains me to say it with everything that tennis has given me... If he wants to play tennis, I will support him. But if he plays another sport, better," he said.

Nadal then hinted that he would be the disciplinarian as a father to Rafa Jr., saying:

"I wouldn't like to be the typical father who justifies everything his children have done. At the moment I'm not in that position."

Nadal's next on-court appearance would be at the Madrid Masters 2024 and the Spaniard has already set foot in the capital city. Nadal has won the ATP Masters 1000 tournament a record five times.