Image Credit: New York Times via Shutterstock
In the middle of a busy on-court season, Rafael Nadal found the time to marry his long-term girlfriend, Maria Francisca Perello (also known as Xisca) on October 19th. They married on the beautiful Spanish island of Majorca in the town of Manacor – Nadal’s hometown and the same place Ruby Fernandez and Gareth Bale married their wives.
However, after the wedding, there was no time for a luxurious and relaxing honeymoon, as one might have expected from the tennis great. Because of Nadal’s busy schedule, and that he’s due to return to his world number 1 ranking next week, the couple relaxed in the Bahamas before their wedding for a pre-honeymoon jaunt.
The Bahamas is a place close to their hearts. They’ve visited a number of times in previous years, including with Nadal’s family in August this year after he won the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Known for its amazing snorkeling, scuba diving, and endless white sandy beaches, the Bahamas is the perfect place for a tennis pro to chill out off-court.
Nadal didn’t go straight back to work though. The man himself and his gorgeous bride got married on a Saturday, had the Sunday off relaxing together, and then Nadal was back at work on Monday preparing for the Paris Masters, London’s ATP Finals and the Davis Cup.
Rafael’s training regime in the lead up to the tennis season is extreme but obviously necessary. He trains six days a week, for six-and-a-half hours every day. Four of these hours get spent on the court, and the rest is either in the gym or the pool. Nadal owns a house in the Majorcan town of Manacor, which is of course equipped with a pool. However, he also likes to use the local public pool for his water workouts.
Nadal has a personal physiotherapist, Rafael Maymo, who’s by his side before and after every game and workout to stretch and massage him, as massages and relaxation are an incredibly important part of a tennis player’s training and recovery routine.
In terms of his diet, Nadal has previously stated a number of times that he doesn’t particularly follow any diet and he thinks they’re “just fads”. Instead, the native Spaniard likes to eat grilled fish, bananas, pasta, olives, and chocolate. All the best to the newlyweds, and hopefully any partying hangovers from the wedding are well and truly worn off.
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