While his former rivals are battling at the ATP Finals in Turin, the 22-time Major champion Rafael Nadal turned his competitive spirit to a new stage this weekend in Miami. In the end, he linked it with tennis nicely.
His Team Rafa narrowly missed out on the 2025 E1 SeriesChampions on the Water title, finishing second behind Tom Brady's squad. After nine high-octane races spanning four continents, the championship came down to the wire in Miami.
Nadal's crew finished just behind Team Brady in a thrilling conclusion to the electric boat season. Off the water, Rafa found time to connect with tennis' rising talent, enjoying dinner with Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca.
The 19-year-old captured his first ATP titles in 2025, making a meteoric rise and wrapping up his first full season on the ATP Tour in the top-25! After meeting his idol, Roger Federer, at the Laver Cup, a teenager got a chance to spend time with another legend and learn from him.
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Fonseca conquered the Next Gen ATP Finals last year in Jeddah. He kicked off the 2025 season with the Canberra Challenger title and dominated the Australian Open qualifying stage.
Joao met Andrey Rublev in the first round in Melbourne and ousted the top-10 rival for a notable victory and a place in the record books. A couple of weeks later, the Brazilian lifted his first ATP title in Buenos Aires on clay.
Despite ups and downs in the upcoming months, Fonseca gained experience and showed his rich talent on the most notable scene. The young gun collected 13 Major and Masters 1000 triumphs and crowned his season with the ATP 500 trophy in Basel.
Thus, Joao cracked the top-30 at a similar age as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, gathering a boost ahead of 2026. In December, Fonseca will return to Miami and play an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz.
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Team Rafa's E1 Series campaign ended just shy of glory. However, Nadal's weekend reflected everything that defines him - passion, competition and mentorship, on water and on land alike.
