Rafael Nadal welcomed at Mallorca airport by wife Maria Francisca Perello after record-breaking Australian Open triumph

Rafael Nadal recently returned to Spain after a successful one-month stay in Australia that saw him lift two trophies, including his 21st Grand Slam. Days after defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2022 Australian Open, the Spaniard landed at the Palma de Mallorca airport, where he was greeted by his wife Maria Francisca Perello.

Perello did not make the trip Down Under with the former World No. 1, choosing to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple were reunited for the first time since the Mallorcan's arrival in Melbourne on 1 January.

The 35-year-old greeted his wife with a warm hug and the moment was captured by a host of cameras. Nadal then went to his academy, where a press conference was held in his honor.

The World No. 5 and Perello dated for 14 years before they announced their engagement in January 2019. Their wedding took place in October and was attended by several prominent celebrities, including actors Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman.

"Rafael Nadal needs his space when he is competing" - Maria Francisca Perello

According to Maria Francisca Perello (R), Rafael Nadal needs his space when competing in tournaments

In an interview with the Telegraph in 2011, Maria Francisca Perello revealed why she doesn't accompany the Mallorcan to his matches on a regular basis.

Perello stated that the Spaniard liked to preserve his state of mind during tournaments. And even if that was not the case, Perello remarked that she did not like the idea of waiting on him all day since it "wears her out".

"Traveling together everywhere, even if I could, would not be good either for Rafa or for me. He needs his space when he is competing, and just the idea of me hanging around waiting on his needs all day wears me out," Perello said. "It would asphyxiate me. And then he would have to be worrying about me. No, if I followed him everywhere, I think there’s a risk we might stop getting along.”

She added that she did not want to be part of the "celebrity world" that would be unavoidable if she chose to travel around the world with the Spaniard.

"For me to [accompany Rafa] would have meant stepping into that celebrity world. It’s not a world I want to be part of, nor do I think Rafa would have chosen to be with a woman who looked for that in life," Perello said. "It’s what works for me and what works for Rafael and I as a couple. We wouldn’t have it any other way.”