Rafael Nadal, Sweaty Towels and His Foundation

Fantasy Friday is in full swing…and today’s tasty treat hails from Mallorca, tastes better than any tapa I’ve had, and has been busy making history while promoting his Foundation. No doubt my Rafa readers are well aware that our Spanish beast is vying to follow up his fifth straight Monte Carlo Masters trophy with a fifth straight title at Barcelona. I can almost hear a collective ‘Vamos’ coming from the crowd…

Nadal and Spanish former tennis player Manolo Santana exchanged rackets at the Barcelona Open a few days ago…Santana gave Nadal the ‘historic’ racket he used during the Wimbledon tournament in 1966, and Nadal gave Santana the racket he used during the Monte Carlo tennis open last weekend. But the event wasn’t just about exchanging rackets, it was a promotional event for Rafael Nadal’s Foundation: Fundacion Rafa Nadal. Word is that Santana’s racket will be auctioned off at Rafa’s next charity auction.

Keeping true to his humble self-Nadal apologized to Santana when he gave him his racket, “This is not so much history.” Not so much history? Can you be any cuter Rafa? Seriously. You’ve dethroned the world’s most arrogant number one, won five-straight at Monte Carlo, are about to do it again in Barcelona and have caused an absolute panic just for wearing sleeves!

Yes, Rafa has recently changed his wardrobe and it seems to be creating a panic among the Nadal Estrogen Brigade. Understandably so. And while I don’t really ‘cruise’ Youtube as much as I probably should, I’ve got some great readers to rely on for sporn-tastic video discoveries. Thanks to Ankita for sharing this video of Rafael Nadal with me…between the towels he brings home for his friends, his sweaty hair sticking to his face, his rolling up of the sleeve to show us his muscle, and his adorable way of thanking the crowd: “Thank you very much the crowd, I repeat everyday, but was always very nice with me” I’d say Rafa grossly underestimates his place in history.

But this is supposed to be a post about Rafa’s Foundation…which I’ve got to admit, is a bit of a challenge because he’s so damn cute I get sidetracked…focus…foundation…Nadal’s Foundation focuses on “promoting the sport as an integration tool for those who need it the most, such as handicapped, immigrant and socially excluded people.” (Sounds like an ideal place for R-Fed to get some help?) Please visit Rafa’s site for more info on his Foundation.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com