"Rafael Nadal has his weird routine, I'm not that crazy" - Eugenie Bouchard on her weirdest superstitions

Apart from his swaggering forehands and intense game style, Rafael Nadal is known for being the most superstitious tennis player ever.

His antics include placing two water bottles in a specific manner near his chair, constantly adjusting his t-shirt and shorts, removing sweat from his face in a particular manner, and tugging his hair behind his ears before each and every point. However, the Spaniard disagrees with people calling these acts superstitions, stating that it's a way of placing him in a match.

“I put the two bottles down at my feet, in front of my chair to my left, one neatly behind the other, diagonally aimed at the court. Some call it superstition, but it’s not. If it were superstition, why would I keep doing the same thing over and over whether I win or lose? It’s a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head,” Nadal wrote in his autobiography.

Speaking on the Golf, Mostly podcast recently, Eugenie Bouchard was asked what was the weirdest tennis superstition or ritual that she had. Hearing the word 'superstition' in the tennis world could automatically remind anyone of Nadal and that's what happened with the 28-year-old. She stated that although she wasn't at his level, she had her own "quirks."

"There are so many, like little weird quirks," Bouchard said. "I mean you've seen Rafa mess with his water bottles on the court, I'm not that crazy. He definitely has his whole weird routine. For me, it's like eating the same thing in the morning and warming up at the same time. When I made it to the finals of Wimbledon, I listened to the same song right before walking onto the court and it got me far."

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Rafael Nadal rubbished 'special treatment' claims at 2022 US Open

Rafael Nadal faced a fourth-round exit at the 2022 US Open

Rafael Nadal has often been criticized for his routine antics on the court by experts and fans alike. During his opening match against Rinky Hijikata at the 2022 US Open, the Spaniard was called out by John McEnroe for not following the 25-second rule between serves.

When a journalist questioned the player in a press conference, he responded by saying that he didn't receive preferential treatment from the umpires.

"I went through a lot of warnings under my tennis career. Never for breaking a racquet, never for doing a mess on court. But, yes, for the time clock. I have a problem that I'm sweating a lot. The problem for players like me that are sweating that much is when you go to pick up the towel, you're going to be in trouble with time. So I'm not going very often. I don't think I have a different treatment from the umpires at all," Nadal said.