Rafael Nadal hilariously addresses "pulling his panties" out before serving: “Something I’ve never been able to get rid of”

Rafael Nadal recently addressed his age-old routine of adjusting his innerwear right before serving during a tennis match.

The Spaniard recently finished what may well be his last campaign at the Barcelona Open before his impending retirement. He defeated Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in the first round only to fall to Australia's Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-1 in the second on Wednesday, April 17.

Nadal, however, felt relieved to be able to even participate in the ATP 500 event as he prioritized health over everything.

"A week ago I thought I wouldn't play here again. The clear message before the tournament was to prioritize not taking any risks. The important thing was to be able to play and being on the court is great news," he said after the match.

During his time in Barcelona, he notably sat down with Mexican tennis player Santiago Gonzalez's daughter Camila and son Matias for a Q&A session on the kids' Instagram page called 'Los Gonzalez de Tour'.

Among numerous questions, one that came Nadal's way was concerned with his tendency to pull his underwear while getting ready to serve.

Camila asked, "Why do you pull out your panties before you serve?"

The 22-time Grand Slam champion couldn't come up with a concrete response and suggested that he couldn't help doing it since his younger days.

"Uf! This is coming from a long time ago. Comes from when I was very very small and it’s something that I’ve never been able to get rid of," he said.

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"Rafael Nadal has a lot of strange routines, even in golf" - Casper Ruud

Rafael Nadal (L) and Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud has already spilled some beans on Rafael Nadal's golfing routines. He told England's star golfer Luke Donald that the Spaniard's swing in golf is terrible, saying in an interview back in June 2023 (via Wimbledon YouTube):

"I played with Rafa twice and he shot under par both of them. If he watches this, I'm just going to take sh*t from him because his swing is awful, it looks so bad but he makes it work somehow." (3:08-3:18)

Ruud further revealed that Nadal indulges in unusual golfing routines similar to the ones during a tennis match. He then explained that the 37-year-old has the habit of pulling his shirt up on both shoulders, adjusting his long hair over both ears, and spot-walking lightly before hitting the golf ball.

"He has a lot of strange routines, even in golf," Ruud added.

Ruud has notably clashed with the 22-time Grand Slam champion on the tennis court twice and lost both times.