"Perseverance, sacrifice and humility" - Spanish politician Jose Manuel Franco visits the Rafael Nadal academy on its 6th anniversary, praises the Spaniard for his contributions to the sport

On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Rafael Nadal's academy, Spanish politician Jose Manuel Franco paid a visit to the facility. Franco raved about the facilities at the iconic academy and heaped praise on Nadal for his contributions to the sport.

Jose Manuel Franco is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. He has been the Secretary-General of the PSOE of the Community of Madrid since September 2017. Since 2021, he has been the president of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD).

Franco congratulated the academy on its sixth anniversary and noted how the values it promotes - perseverance, sacrifice, and humility - were in accord with Rafael Nadal himself.

"Impressed by the magnificent work of the @rnadalacademy. I have verified how the values of which @RafaelNadal is an example are promoted: perseverance, sacrifice and humility, as well as personally thanking him for what he does for the sport. Congratulations on your 6th anniversary," Franco wrote on Twitter.

Jennifer Pareja, a former Spanish water polo player and advisor to Franco, retweeted his tweet while further praising Nadal.

"Our @RafaelNadal is big on and off the track, we always knew that," Pareja wrote.

"Tennis or family? It's not easy to combine both" - Mischa Zverev on how Rafael Nadal would deal with parenthood

Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2022

Mischa Zverev, older brother of Alexander Zverev, recently weighed in on Rafael Nadal becoming a father for the first time.

In an interview with Eurosport, Zverev said that it would be tough for Nadal to balance parenthood with his career, adding that for him, "family always came first."

"You have to think about how you go about it, how selfish – even if that sounds stupid – you want to be. Tennis or family? It's not easy to combine both. For me, family always came first," Zverev said.

The German added that Nadal's life would change "enormously" and that it could affect the way he trains.

"Life will change enormously - for the woman, but also for the father," Zverev continued. "You have to train for two or three hours every morning, after which it's time for regeneration or fitness. Usually you warm up for half an hour, then you train for two hours, followed by an hour of regeneration. I know that from me: If you have a child, you also say, 'I'll regenerate tomorrow and I need to warm up not me today.' So three and a half hours of training in the morning becomes two or one and a half."