Ash Barty was ‘overwhelmed’ in Rafael Nadal meeting and received generous offer

Ash Barty has revealed that she was “overwhelmed” in her first meeting with Rafael Nadal, who recently joined her in retirement.

Barty unexpectedly decided to quit professional tennis at the age of 25 two years ago, having won the Australian Open two months before her decision.

The three-time Grand Slam champion has since opened up on meeting Nadal when she was 15 and “overwhelmed” before the Spaniard and his team went on to offer tremendous support during her professional career.

“I love Rafa,” Barty explained to the Herald Sun. “What I loved most was Rafa as a human being. I played my first Australian Open when I was 15 and walked past him in the corridor and he said hello. I was this overwhelmed kid. He could not have been nicer.

“We shared some cool successes and have those memories but I liked the way Rafa retired. He wanted to represent Spain in a team environment. That was my dream.

“I wanted to retire representing Australia at a Fed Cup tie in Brisbane which did not eventuate. I know that feeling of celebrating your career with the people you love.”

There had been complaints over Nadal’s farewell match, at the Davis Cup, with several of his compatriots claiming that a player of his status deserved a more grand goodbye to tennis.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were among those who had hoped to attend Nadal’s last game but were absent as Spain were knocked out early in the competition.

Barty revealed that Nadal and his surrounding team graciously offered to help her during Covid, when Australia imposed stricter restrictions than the majority of the world, and asked if she would want to play at his academy.

Unable to practice freely in her homeland, Barty explained that Nadal and co. offered to take care of all the arrangements necessary in order for the superstar to focus on tennis.

“He and his team were always so kind to us,” Barty detailed. “They offered us to help and during Covid when Australia was going through quite a challenging time and his uncle Toni had reached out to us and said ‘if you need you come there is space in our academy and we can set you up no problem at all. We are always very grateful for them.

“It’s been such a beautiful celebration for him and his career. So many tributes from players and also other athletes around the world. It showed how much of a positive impact it had on sport and life in general. He has a brilliant perspective on life and sport. I was always one of his biggest supporters.”