Rafael Nadal gets surprise shoutout from Steffi Graf's compatriot & rising WTA star as she gears up for clay swing

A WTA star has expressed her desire to channel her inner Rafael Nadal for the upcoming European clay swing. The Spaniard's unparalleled prowess on clay is no secret to anyone in the tennis fraternity. The extent of his strength on clay was such that defeating the 38-year-old on this surface is listed as an achievement for many players.

Majority of the success of Nadal's career came on clay surfaces, which he dominated like no other player ever could with 63 of his incredible 92 titles coming on this surface. In his illustrious career, the Spaniard, who was given the nickname 'King of Clay, won an unprecedented 14 French Open titles, 12 Barcelona Open titles, 11 Monte-Carlo Masters and 10 Rome Masters, all clay tournaments.

Eva Lys, who is tennis legend Steffi Graf's compatriot, burst onto the scene as a lucky loser at the 2025 Australian Open, where she made it to the fourth round. She then became a lucky loser for a second time this year at the BNP Paribas Open and made it to the second round. Her first part of the season came to an end in the qualifiers of the Miami Open where she lost to Ito Aoi.

The 23-year-old German, who is currently ranked 76 in the WTA rankings, has wasted no time in kicking off her preparations for the upcoming European clay swing. She posted a picture of the clay surface on her Instagram and gave a special shoutout to the 'King of Clay' in it:

"Time to channel my inner rafa again."

via Eva Lys INSTAGRAM story.

Interestingly, though everyone knows that the 22-time Grand Slam champion's best surface is clay, he recently revealed what he thought was his second-best surface.

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"Without playing 2009, I played five finals in a row" - Rafael Nadal on what he thinks his second-best surface is

The Championships - Wimbledon 2010: Day Thirteen - Source: Getty

During his recent appearance on the podcast, Served with Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal chose grass over hard courts as his second-best surface, citing how he played five consecutive finals at Wimbledon, winning two of them. Nick Kyrgios, who played the Spaniard twice at Wimbledon, winning one and losing one, praised Nadal's prowess on clay.

"My second best surface was grass. Without playing 2009, I played five (Wimbledon) finals in a row. Honestly, I preferred to play Novak on grass than on hard," the 38-year-old said.

Though the Spaniard has hung up his racket, his impact on tennis remains with the new generation of rising stars like Alexandra Eala and Coleman Wong.