Rafael Nadal sends touching message as his team wins Qatar E1 Doha GP for 1st time after 2024 heartbreak

Rafael Nadal’s team Team Rafa captured its first victory in the history of the UIM E1 World Championship at the Visit Qatar E1 Doha GP. It is a hard-earned success after last year’s heartbreak as the team got close to the podium finish but missed it by a whisker.

The competition took place at Qatar's beautiful Pearl Island. Team Rafa, where pilots Cris Lazarraga from Spain and Tom Chiappe from France took their RaceBird - an all-electric race boat - to its much-awaited victory. Thousands of fans lined up on the island to witness the high-octane racing, and Team Rafa didn’t disappoint them by ripping through the finish line against fierce competitors.

The win catapults Team Rafa to the summit of the championship table ahead of arch-rivals like Steve Aoki’s Aoki Racing Team, which won in Jeddah last month, and Didier Drogba’s—Team Drogba, which finished second and placed third overall in the host city of Doha.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion is a big sports and sustainability enthusiast driving him to participate in this all-electric racing series with owning one of his teams. Being delighted after the win, he posted on social media about his joy and pride. Accompanying a picture of the winning RaceBird, he wrote:

“Last August we celebrated together the second position 🥈 of @e1teamrafa at Lago di Como. We set ourselves the goal of winning an @e1series event soon... And you did it today in Doha! Congratulations to the whole team for a great success! The first 🏆 of many! What a great weekend @crislazarraga33 & @tom.chiappe! Vamos! 💪🏼”

His note struck a chord with fans and underscored the special bond between the tennis icon and his team’s quest for greatness.

Hollywood star Will Smith, owner of Westbrook Racing, whose team finished fourth was a part of this weekend's gathering. Another celebrity-owned team, Team Brady, the defending champion sponsored by NFL star Tom Brady, had mixed results. Finnish pilot Emma Kimilainen scored a dominant victory in Final 1, but a time penalty for her teammate Sam Coleman during Final 2 restricted the squad to fifth overall.

Team Rafa basking in the glory of its maiden title victory in Doha has set high expectations for the rest of the remaining season. With Nadal’s unwavering support and talented team of pilots, the team shows great potential that 2025 will be a landmark year for the team in the UIM E1 World Championship.

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Rafael Nadal spending time with young players at his academy post-retirement

Rafael Nadal with the kids of his academy in 2019 - Source: Getty

Rafael Nadal retired from the professional tennis circuit in November 2024 at the Davis Cup finals. He contested in the quarterfinals, where he failed to take Spain to the next round losing to the Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets.

The Spaniard established his academy back in 2016 with a motive to promote young talented tennis players to reach the pinnacle of the sport. The academy has proven Nadal’s vision and mettle by producing world-class players like Casper Ruud, the current World No. 5, and Jaume Munar another top 100 tennis player worldwide.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was recently spotted at his academy spending time with some young tennis players post-retirement. Nadal posted about it on X (formerly known as Twitter) and captioned it:

“Learning, enjoying and sharing time and experiences with these young and talented players at the @rnadalacademy”

Post-retirement, the 38-year-old has dedicated a significant amount of his time to the academy, training young players and fostering their talent to turn into something substantial.