Tennis fans irked by ‘right-handed’ Rafael Nadal in exhibition poster for Casper Ruud match
Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud are off to Latin America for an exhibition tournament, but eagle-eyed tennis fans were not happy with one of the posters for their match in Mexico.
Twenty-two time Grand Slam winner Nadal confirmed last week that he is to play at least five matches in South America and Mexico in late November and early December as part of his end-of-season tour.
He completed the announcement by revealing that Ruud – the man he beat in this year’s French Open final – would join him on tour with the first match set to take place in Buenos Aires on November 21 while there will also be encounters in Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Mexico.
In a social media clip, two-time Grand Slam finalist Ruud asks Nadal about a revenge match following his Roland Garros defeat and the Spaniard replies: “Let me think… Ok, I know what we can do. We can play a match in Buenos Aires. I give you the [chance for] revenge there and if you win; If you win I’ll owe you a barbecue…”
He added: “I tell you what, we’ll do five rematches. One in Buenos Aires, Bogota, Quinto, Belo Horizonte, Mexico City. Is that enough or not?”
Ruud’s reply was a simple: “Very good, thanks a lot!”
A few days after the announcement, organisers confirmed ticket details for the Mexico City match on December 1 and it was accompanied by a poster of Nadal and Ruud.
The image that was used of is Nadal with the racket in his right hand, much to the dismay of tennis fans.
“They invented Nadal right-handed. What is the next step? Do it with hair?” @sanayaninaa tweeted.
Another added: “The whole thing about this match will be Rafa playing right-handed and Casper as a lefty, right?”
How do you get the ONE thing you need to get right wrong https://t.co/tPZD33mxMv
— Aaron | 1ga’s schnitzel shop (@RafaRenaIN) October 5, 2022
@RafaRenaIN wanted to know: “How do you get the ONE thing you need to get right wrong.”
Tennis great Nadal, of course is unlikely to be playing with his right hand when he takes on Ruud in Latin America, but the poster is not too far-fetched as the Spaniard is right-handed.
As Michael Graham once pointed out he is ambidextrous and catches a ball, writes and brushes his teeth with his right hand. He only started playing with his left hand after his Uncle Toni encouraging him to do so at a young age.
“I had the impression that he was stronger on his left side than on his right side. So, I figured that he was left-handed; it’s as simple as that,” Toni said.
READ MORE: Rafael Nadal – The story of how right-handed Rafa learned to dominate tennis with his left
