Rafael Nadal’s very cruel joke when people left terrified before the confrontation with Ronaldo | Tennis | Sport

As the Australian Open begins, a familiar face will not be there. Rafael Nadal He retired at the end of 2024, meaning his days of competing in the Major Leagues are over.

The former World No. 1 will need to find new ways to keep busy off the tennis court, something he learned to do during several injury breaks throughout his career.

During a period off the pitch, he even played a cruel prank on some unsuspecting passengers to promote an unusual showdown with Brazilian football icon Ronaldo.

A decade ago, Nadal was sidelined by a wrist injury. To pass the time, he planned a successful poker game with Ronaldo.

And the 22-time Major winner found a very unusual way to promote their showdown, showing he had a good poker face by playing a cruel prank on some helicopter passengers.

In the PokerStars video, Nadal tricks some unsuspecting passengers by first pretending to be their captain before trying to convince them that everything is fine when problems arise before they can take off.

The former world number one tried to start the engine without luck. Someone in the back seat had to assure their partner that “nothing was wrong.”

But things went from bad to worse. Nadal then asked some of the runners to hand him the instruction manual, keeping his poker face and calm. “This is always done for safety,” he assured them.

With an alarm blaring, Nadal also told his passengers where they were going, talking about their route through the mountains. And, to put the finishing touch to his cruel joke, smoke began to fill the cabin when he was finally ready to take off.

The terrified cyclists grew tired and ran from the helicopter as the Spanish tennis ace told them to stay calm. He finally gave up the game and left the cabin.

After testing out his poker face in the helicopter, Nadal put it to good use in his game against Ronaldo, convincingly beating the Brazilian when they met in London. He earned £40k for his Rafael Nadal Charitable foundation.

“Strategies should always be an important part of sport,” Nadal said after his big win. Meanwhile, Ronaldo had to pay a fine: wash 400 dirty dishes.

Although Nadal has yet to return to poker since retiring from tennis, he has been enjoying another sport. The 38-year-old is an avid scratch handicap golfer and has already played some amateur events in Mallorca.

He finished in the top 10 on the Q-Romia Hexagonal Circuit days after hanging up his racket in the Davis Cup Finals.