‘I lived that tragedy’: Rafael Nadal opens up on impacts of Majorca floods

Michael Graham 22 Dec 2018 9:01 AM

Rafael Nadal looks up

Rafael Nadal has spoken of the ‘tragedy’ of the flooding on his home island of Majorca, revealing just how much it affected him.

Flash floods swept the Balearic island in October, killing 13 people.

“It was terrible,” Nadal told CNN Sport in an exclusive interview at his academy. “Scary, and very sad.”

“It happened in the village just next to us, just five or six kilometres away from here.

“It was a tough day. I really lived that tragedy, from very close.

“Was very sad for all the people that lost the materials, but especially, the lives that can’t come back.”

Three-time Laureus Award winner and tennis icon @RafaelNadal pitches in to help flood victims in the nearby Majorcan town of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar.

Class on and off the court! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/WXPXOZskVL

— Laureus (@LaureusSport) October 10, 2018

Nadal was photographed helping to clean up the damage. He recalls: “The next day, we went on court and after 10 minutes, I said ‘Guys, I can’t practice.'”

“I came back, and I was here with the friends and after that, we decided to go there. That’s all.”