INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Just days after Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open to capture a historic 21st Grand Slam singles title, the Spanish tennis star stepped onto a golf course back home in Mallorca to compete in the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.
Though coming off a grueling tennis tournament — which gave him more Grand Slam titles than any man in the sport’s history, including rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic — Nadal finished second on the leaderboard. He shot a 2-over 74 in his best round at Club de Golf Alcanada. He also shot rounds of 77 and 80.
After it ended Feb. 14, Nadal flew to Acapulco, where he continued the best start to a year during his career with another tournament title, his third of 2022. Once the event in Mexico concluded, Nadal had 10 days before the start of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. He came early anyway, mainly for one purpose.
“If here is the paradise of tennis,” Nadal said Monday in an exclusive interview with The Desert Sun, “it’s probably even more in golf. Plenty of amazing golf courses, so for golf lovers it’s an amazing place, honestly.”
Coming off a pair of tournament titles in Melbourne and in Acapulco, fourth-ranked Nadal is still unbeaten this year at 17-0. He faces American Reilly Opelka, who is ranked 17th, Wednesday on Stadium Court in the Round of 16. Nadal is seeking his first title at Indian Wells since 2013.
Until his first match in the desert Saturday, Nadal hadn’t played this event in three years. The 2020 tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic and Nadal had already shut himself down for the season with a chronic left foot injury when the 2021 event was moved to October.
Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadal takes part in the Balearic Golf Championship in Mallorca on October 24, 2020. (Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP via Getty Images)
Nadal, 35, has looked rejuvenated this year, and that has continued at Indian Wells. He saved two match points to rally back to beat American Sebastian Korda—brother to LPGA stars Nelly and Jessica Korda—in his first match, then cruised in straight sets against Daniel Evans of Great Britain on Monday. His energy and fight on the court has been the biggest difference in those matches.
Nadal has said that Indian Wells is one of his favorite places in the world. Perhaps it’s not just because he adores the BNP Paribas Open and is close with tournament owner and tech mogul billionaire Larry Ellison.
Though a world traveler due to the World Tour, Nadal said that he only golfs at home and in California’s Coachella Valley, where 120 courses offer him plenty of options. Nadal said that when he’s in town, he regularly plays at Madison Club in La Quinta and Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert. But he mostly plays at the private course at Ellison’s Porcupine Creek Estate in Rancho Mirage.
“He has probably the best golf course in the desert,” Nadal said. “It’s one of the best golf courses I’ve ever seen, without a doubt, if not the best. For us, it’s very easy there. We can’t thank enough Larry for his hospitality and for being very generous with us.”
Nadal has spoken in the past about his admiration for Tiger Woods, about how he watches every tournament that he plays on TV and how he’s been inspired by Woods’ fiery attitude on the course. It’s easy to spot the similarities in how Woods plays golf and how Nadal plays tennis, each player fist pumping and shouting after big shots.
Tiger Woods and his son Charlie watch a match between Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic during the 2019 U.S. Open in New York. (Photo: Seth Wenig/Associated Press)
By 2013, Nadal began playing golf competitively, and he and Spanish golfer José María Olazábal started a charity golf tournament called the Olazábal & Nadal Invitational in Mallorca. All funds raised through the pro-am went to the Rafael Nadal Foundation and Olazábal’s Sport Mundi Foundation.
Three years later, Nadal entered his first professional golf tournament at the Balearic Golf Championships. He finished in the top 10 in 2020, with a handicap that is now 1.5.
Nadal said that he doesn’t play golf with any other players on Tour. He just plays with his team, friends and family. He doesn’t believe that there’s anything from his golf game that translates to the tennis courts. He simply plays for fun, and as a competitive outlet when he’s not playing tennis.
That has been important for him as he gets older and as he manages a chronic left foot condition called Mueller-Weiss syndrome. It’s a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot. Nadal said that he expects to live with the condition for the rest of his life and that it’s important for the longevity of his tennis career to not jeopardize the health of the foot doing strenuous activities outside of tennis.
“The truth is, I’m not able to practice aggressive sports anymore,” Nadal said. “No football, or soccer, no impact or aggressive sports for my knees and my foot. Golf is a very social sport. You can compete, but at the same time it’s good that you can play with friends, family and even if you have a lower level or a higher level you can compete with the handicap.”
Part of that career longevity, Nadal has said, is finding joy on the Tour outside of playing tennis. There’s often two days between matches at a given tournament and players need to stay sharp with activities outside of practice sessions.
At least at Indian Wells, where he has won three titles on the hardcourts, Nadal has been taking advantage of the opportunities to do just that.
“Everything helps to have a longer career,” Nadal said. “Because all the things that you have and you enjoy helps you to be happier and if you’re happier in life and you are healthier, your career can be longer.
“In general terms,” Nadal said, “what the golf makes me feel is that I compete in beautiful places, in great company and enjoying a lot of positive things that the golf game brings to me.”