The tennis world has lost it over the sight of Rafael Nadal’s son.
Rafael Jr was courtside during Nadal’s loss to world No.4 Alexander Zverev in the opening round of the French Open, and images of baby Rafa with his mum, Maria ‘Xisca’ Perello, have sent fans into a spin.
When being held by his mum, Rafa Jr was particularly engaged by a mini Babolat tennis racquet, a tiny version of the raquet Nadal uses.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
And after the match Nadal was also spotted playing with his son, while a video of the gorgeous moment was pushed out on X (formerly Twitter).
“Rafa Nadal playing with Baby Rafa is the cutest thing you’ll see all week,” popular social media account The Tennis Letter wrote in a caption of the video.
“Pure love, nothing else.”
And fans reacted with delight when seeing the vision.
“Little Rafa … hope he grows up to be a legend like daddy,” one fan said.
“Love love this! 💕,” said another.
“So cute and that’s both Rafas,” another said.
And another: “Rafa enjoying his little son 🫶 there is nothing more to say 💐.”
And another: “Rafa, you’re such an incredible person as a player, father, humble and kind human. I hope many players will emulate your behavior on and off court. It has been truly an honor to see you play over the years. I hope in a few years we get to cheer for your son.”
Fans and Nadal’s peers are all bracing themselves for the day the Spanish legend — who is 37 years old and in a constant battle to get his body right — announces his retirement.
Other stars spotted in the Roland Garros stands watching the Nadal match included Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiątek.
After the match, Djokovic explained why he was there and if he thought Nadal would go on next year.
If you’d like to view this content, please adjust your .
To find out more about how we use cookies, please see our Cookie Guide.
“Yeah, it looks like (he will play in 2025),” Djokovic said.
“I think he played very well comparing to what we saw from his performance in, where was it, in Rome and where he played in Barcelona.
“I think he played really on a much higher level. Even though he lost in straight sets, second and third were really close. He could have easily won one of those two sets, and maybe the match was going in a different direction.
“But he was a bit unlucky with the draw, because Zverev, he is in a great form, winning Rome, and he was serving extremely well. It’s tough to play Sascha when he’s feeling the ball so well.
But it was great to watch. I don’t recall last time I actually watched a set of any match live on that level, other than Davis Cup, of course, matches.
“It was great. I saw, you know, Iga was there, Alcaraz was there, and we all wanted to get a glimpse of the atmosphere, of that possibly unique moment, you know, that could be his last.
“But it doesn’t appear like that.”