The love story of Rafa Nadal and Xisca Perelló: how they met, who was the matchmaker and the arrival of their first child

Roger Federer talks about the benefits of fatherhood, a unique sentiment that is difficult to convey. Andy Murray listens intently and smiles, even though he knows what the Brit who has four children is talking about, just like the Swiss. And there is also Rafa Nadal, who despite not knowing what it means to “be a dad”, shows himself in tune with the speeches of his two great colleagues and friends who have been on the circuit for years: “I hope to be in your situation in a short time”the Spaniard says, as if he knows what’s going to happen.

A few months after that human zoom chat between the cracks of the Big 4 (Djokovic obviously was missing) that marked much of the last era of professional tennis, the big news arrived: after almost two decades of relationship, Rafael Nadal and his wife Maria Francesca Perello They would be expecting their first child. The good news exploded during the holidays of the new French Open champion, from the confirmation of the magazine Hola de España.

In the end, Nadal may find himself in that situation he sought so much when he formed a family. The photo that flooded the nets and which anticipated the novelty of the married couple in 2019, shows Xisca on a beach in Mallorca, wearing a swimsuit that, according to the magazine Hola, `show your new silhouette´.

So, the 36-year-old tennis player and his 33-year-old wife, they begin to write a new chapter in their lives, as Nadal begins to put his head to Wimbledon. After undergoing medical treatment on his left foot, Rafa puts himself first and is already training in one of the fields of the Country Club of Santa Ponça.

Rafa and Xisca, a life together

With the announcement that the family is growing, what is even clearer is that Nadal and Xisca appear to be something for life. The tennis player and his wife, in fact, met during their adolescence. Both originally from Mallorca, they started their relationship 17 years agoand its history is, at least, particular.

The first contact between Rafa and María Francisca was thanks to Maribel, Rafa’s sister, who attended the Pureza de María school in Manacor, where she became very close to María Francisca.

Since then, future champion of everything that will go through him in the world of tennis, he began to get closer and closer to his younger sister’s friend. When were they first shown together? In 2005, in what would become Rafa Yes’s backyard, that year Nadal won the first of his 13 Roland Garros titles. And, from that moment on, in addition to never leaving the low profile, they became inseparable companions.

Both hail from Manacor, a small town located in Mallorca, and likewise their families have always been quite influential in the area. Rafa, son of Sebastián Nadal, a successful businessman, and María Parera, a housewife. Xisca, daughter of the builder Bernat Perelló and María Pascual, a worker of the municipality.

Although María has always been very attached to Rafa, she assured herself in the book Rafael: My story, that the key to such a lasting relationship was their independence. “Traveling everywhere together would not be good for him or me. If I followed him everywhere, I think there would be a danger that we didn’t get along so well. “

And this low profile is pretty much the main feature of Xisca, which doesn’t have any public social networks. In addition, very little is known about the Majorcan’s private life and it is hardly revealed that she studied Business administration and management at the University of the Balearic Islands, and which is at the forefront of the Rafa Nadal Foundation.

The Rafa Nadal Foundation was created in 2008 by Rafa and his mother Ana María. It was born with the aim of transforming sport and education, as well as promoting inclusion and diversity. María Francisca is a member of the foundation board of the Foundation, where she holds the role of secretary. While part of the executive team, he holds the role of Director.

The story of your intimate wedding

After 14 years of dating, in which they were seen together in only a handful of the highlights of Rafa’s career, the couple decided to get married in 2019. The ceremony took place only in October, but the proposal would have arisen in May 2018, in Rome.

Nadal had just won the tournament in the Italian capital for the eighth time, and he had managed to climb to the top of the ATP rankings again, so it was a perfect backdrop to pitch to his longtime girlfriend. The wedding took place in Sa Fortalesa, a building located on a peninsula overlooking the Bay of Pollença, and did not see the participation of any type of press.

Indeed, the photographs of that celebration were released by Nadal himself, through the social networks of his Foundation. The ceremony was attended by several tennis players such as Feliciano López, David Ferrer and Juan `Pico´ Mónaco, among others.