"It was a very sweet thing... now I'm going to ask every player" - Rafael Nadal gifting his shirt to Pedro Cachin inspires Ons Jabeur

Rafael Nadal gifting his shirt to Pedro Cachin is a story widely shared on social media and Ons Jabeur recently revealed that she was inspired by the gesture.

In the third round of the Madrid Open 2024, Nadal was up against the Argentine Pedro Cachin. The Spaniard has inspired a generation of tennis stars and Cachin, who might never face Nadal again, seized the moment by asking the legend for his shirt.

The 37-year-old obliged and gifted Cachin one of his shirts which he used during the match. Many tennis stars commented on the matter and most endorsed the gesture.

The shirt-gifting, however, is very common in soccer. Ons Jabeur believes the popularity of soccer in Argentina might have been one of the reasons for Cachin going down that road.

“I think because he’s Argentinian, and he’s into football a lot and that’s what they do in football, but I think it was a very sweet thing to have,” Jabeur said (via The National News).

Jabeur further claimed she was inspired by the act and wishes to ask others for their t-shirts or racquets.

“But now basically I’m going to ask every player for their T-shirt maybe. I think the most common thing in tennis would be a racquet, not a T-shirt, but definitely one day I would want to have a souvenir of the players that I like and enjoy, maybe for my academy to keep it for sure.”

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Iga Swiatek claimed she would repeat Pedro Cachin's act if she played against Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek.

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek recently claimed she looked up to Rafael Nadal when she was younger and that she would have also asked the Spaniard for his shirt if they ever played against each other.

"If I would play against Rafa, for sure I would ask for a T-shirt," Swiatek said during a post-match press conference at the 2024 Madrid Open.

"For sure, he was a huge inspiration. When I was younger, he was basically the only player I looked up to, but not because of his game on clay - more because of the way he is off the court and how he never gives up, and also his mentality," she added.

Nadal's round of 16 opponent, Jiri Lehecka, was not so keen on the act and neither was tennis broadcaster David Law. Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios, and Boris Becker were some of the names who applauded the gesture.