Australian Open 2023: Rafael Nadal loses his racquet in first-round win; Watch the ‘funny situation’ here

In what he later described as a “funny situation”, tennis star Rafael Nadal lost his racquet at the opening first round of the Australian Open 2023 when he played against Jack Draper in Melbourne on Monday. While Nadal won 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, midway through the first set, the 22-time grand slam winner appeared perplexed as he explained to the umpire that he was looking for his racquet.

During the game, Nadal can be heard explaining to the umpire that the racquet left on the bench was for the stringer and “not that one”. He further exclaims, “I need the racquet back…I need the dampener and everything”. The dampener is a small rubber device that is used by tennis players between the strings of the racquet to decrease the impact while hitting shots.

However, apparently, the ball boy took Nadal’s racquet with the dampener to the stringer, who is assigned person to string a racquet every 15 to 20 minutes during a tennis match. The commentator can be heard explaining that there is going to be a “delay” as Nadal did not look like he has a spare one.


After selecting a different racquet, Nadal even explained himself to Drape and said, “The ball boy took by racquet”. While the match resumed and Nadal won, he later explained the entire incident as a “funny situation”.

According to Eurosport, Nadal later said that normally he has the number of racquets under control so he said that he need the stringer, but he needed that for a separate racquet. He went on to say it was “no problem at all” as the ball boy picked the racquet that he was “ready to play with”.

FAQs:

1. When will Australian Open 2023 end?
   Australian Open 2023 started on January 16 and will end on January 29.
2. Where is Australian Open taking place?
   It takes place in Melbourne, every year.