Rafael Nadal now explains why he always bit the trophy after winning a tournament

Rafael Nadal won a lot of titles throughout his decorated career as a professional tennis player.

Nadal won 14 titles at the French Open alone, a record-breaking number that no other player in history can come near to.

After retiring from tennis last year, Nadal received a farewell ceremony in Paris that featured his former rivals Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer.

The Spaniard often had to overcome those three players to win the biggest titles, and now Nadal has explained why he would always bite the trophy after doing so.

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Rafael Nadal now explains why he always bit the trophy after winning a tournament

Nadal is known as the ‘King of Clay’ for his dominance at the French Open, as well as other tournaments on the surface that he often dominated.

One of those tournaments was the Monte Carlo Masters, where Nadal is a record 11-time champion.

His first triumph at the Masters 1000 tournament came in 2005, when he beat Guillermo Coria in the final.

When speaking in an interview with Roland Garros about his iconic trophy bite, Nadal revealed that it actually originated at the Monte Carlo Masters that year, but he admitted he was unsure why he started it.

“I won Monte Carlo this year in 2005, I don’t know why I bit the trophy,” confessed Nadal. “And after that, the photographers started asking me to bite it again. So then it became a tradition and that’s why, at the end, it was like this, always.”

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Nadal would bite many trophies in his career, winning 92 in total including 22 Grand Slams, 36 Masters 1000 titles and two Olympic gold medals.

Rafael Nadal admits missing the French Open in 2003 and 2004 may have been beneficial

Just a few weeks after biting the Monte Carlo Masters trophy, Nadal would go on to win his first Grand Slam at the French Open.

Despite already being a top five ranked player heading into the tournament, it was actually Nadal’s debut appearance at the French Open.

This was because Nadal was forced to miss the 2003 and 2004 tournaments due to an elbow and foot injury, respectively.

Although this was a disappointment for him at the time, Nadal has now suggested that it was probably a blessing in hindsight.

“My first year here, I was supposed to be playing here in 2003 and 2004,” said Nadal. “But unfortunately, in 2003 I broke my elbow, and in 2004 I broke my foot.

“So, two times that I was not able to be here before, but maybe for the good reason. Because then, when I came here for the first time, with this yeah different look, it was long time ago. I was able to win. But it was a good memory. Very, very young, full of energy.”

This was just the start for Nadal, as he would dominate the French Open and lose only four of his 116 matches in Paris.

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