Sebastian Korda mourns the death of his pet cat named after Rafael Nadal, shares emotional message

Sebastian Korda experienced a personal bereavement when his pet cat Rafi passed away on April 29. The American named his pet after his tennis inspiration, 22-time Major champion Rafael Nadal.

Before his match against Nadal in the fourth round at the 2020 French Open, Korda admitted the Spanish icon's influence on his tennis. Nadal was the American player's inspiration to pick up the racquet and to follow the same "never give up" attitude that had won the Spaniard a record 93 career titles. Back then, Korda had opened up about Nadal's influence on his life and tennis, prompting him to name his cat after the Mallorcan.

"He's an unbelievable player. I named my cat after him, so that explains a lot how much I love him." said Korda

Korda shared the passing away of "Rafi" on Instagram, penning an emotional message,

"Goodbye my friend"

Sebastian Korda bids farewell to his pet cat named after Rafael Nadal (Source: Instagram)

Korda shared another post with a three-word message for his beloved pet cat.

"Rest easy Rafi"

Sebastian Korda shares heartfelt message for pet cat who passed away (Source: Instagram)

Nadal won the 2020 French Open encounter against Korda in straight sets 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. The two would play one more time on the Tour, at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open, where the Spaniard once again emerged victorious 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (3).

Sebastian Korda has had a poor 2025 season so far

As of now, Sebastain Korda has an 8-8 win/loss record in 2025. The American started the season well, reaching the final of the Adelaide International, where he lost in three sets against Felix-Auger Aliassime. But after that, the American could only win one of his next four matches, having a second-round exit at the Australian Open and opening-round exits at Marseille and Indian Wells. He did reach the quarterfinal of the Miami Open, losing 3-6, 6-7(4) against Novak Djokovic.

The clay court season has not fared any better for Korda, as he could only win two of the five matches he has played this year. He lost in the first round in Monte-Carlo and had an early exit in Barcelona as well. At the Madrid Open, he lost 3-6, 3-6 against Casper Ruud in the Round of 32.

Korda does have a clay-court title to his name. His maiden Tour-level title came on the surface as he won the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Marco Cecchinato in the final.

About the author

Sagnik, a Mass Communication and Journalism graduate, is a tennis journalist at Sportskeeda. Before finding his spot in the tennis writing team, he worked as a junior content specialist for academic content writing firms for a couple of years.

Before putting out any information in the public domain, Sagnik makes sure that every element of his content is well-researched and backed with credible data so that there is no misinterpretation of facts or quotes and ethical standards are maintained. To do so, Sagnik follows reputed websites like the Tennis Channel and Tennis TV, and renowned journalists on social media.

He is a fan of former player Roger Federer, and just like his favorite player, Sagnik likes to bring perfection to his write-ups by providing concise and on-point content. Speaking of the ‘GOAT’ debate, Sagnik believes that it is a bit unfair to compare the legends of the game from different eras who have played on different terms. But if he were to pick one, he’d go for Novak Djokovic based on his tally of 24 Grand Slam titles.

When not writing about tennis and technically analyzing the sport, which he believes are his 'forte', Sagnik indulges in reading books.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee