Nadal's mother revealed his unknown side: sensitive inside, afraid of the dark and thunder, sleeping with the lights on

Nadal is one of the toughest contenders in tennis history, and his spirit of fighting to the last point on the tennis court is admirable. However, what few people know is that in private he is very different from the image on the field.

According to Nadal's mother, Ana Maria, the Spaniard is a "super sensitive" person with his own fears and insecurities that fans can hardly imagine. Maria also tenderly mentioned some of her son's peculiar habits, including his tendency to avoid dark places.

In her son's autobiography, Rafa: My Story (co-written by Nadal with John Carlin), Maria reveals that the 22-time Grand Slam champion prefers to sleep with the lights on, revealing a unique side of his personality.

She also revealed that her son was so afraid of thunder and lightning that when he was a child, whenever there was a storm outside, he would hide under the couch cushions. "Deep down, he's a super sensitive person, full of fear and uneasiness, which is hard for those on the outside world who don't know him to imagine," Maria said. She continued: "For example, he doesn't like the dark and prefers to sleep with the light or TV on. He also doesn't like thunder and lightning. ”

"When I was a kid, whenever there was thunder and lightning, he would hide under the couch cushions, and now if there's a storm and you need to go out to get something, he won't let you out." She added.

Maria also mentioned some of her son's special diets, lamenting: "Then there is his diet, he hates cheese, tomatoes and ham – the national dish of Spain. While I'm not as interested in ham myself as most people, what about cheese? It's a bit special indeed. ”

Nadal's mother, Maria, has spoken about his upbringing, making it clear that she and his father, Sebastian, have no goal of developing him into a top athlete. Instead, they focused more on providing him with a good educational background and did not set any sports goals for the child at all.

"Neither my father nor I had the goal of developing a football player or a tennis player. From an educational point of view, this is a mistake. Children should enjoy learning and playing. Some people want to see their children become future geniuses. We've never thought about it that way. If it happens, of course it's good, if not......," she said in an interview with As.com.

Recently, Nadal wrote an affectionate message to Argentina's Schwartzman after he announced his retirement. Schwartzman played his final match of his career in the second round of the ATP 250 tournament in Buenos Aires, losing 2-6, 2-6 to Spain's Martinez. In this way, Schwartzman's turbulent career came to an end.

After retiring, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal wrote an emotional message for Schwartzman, congratulating him on his outstanding career and wishing him all the best in his retirement, "Congratulations to Diego Schwartzman and congratulations on your great career!" You've always been a great example of struggle and overcoming difficulties, and I'm glad we've had so many moments in common. Enjoy the next stage of your life! ”

Schwartzman's best Grand Slam performance came at the 2020 French Open, where he reached the semi-finals but failed to defeat eventual champion Nadal.

It is worth mentioning that Nadal also said goodbye to his illustrious career at last year's Davis Cup, when the 38-year-old fought hard but eventually lost 4-6 4-6 to Van der Shanchop, marking the end of his storied career.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)