Rafael Nadal tries out new sport away from tennis after US Open withdrawal

Rafael Nadal tried his hand at a new sport by taking to the waters of Lake Como after withdrawing from the US Open. The veteran Spaniard initially appeared on the entry list but later pulled out after recognising that he would not be able to perform at his best. Nadal is currently in Italy for the fifth race of the inaugural E1 Series, the world’s first all-electric powerboat series. He is one of several celebrity backers, with the likes of Tom Brady, Will Smith, Didier Drogba and Virat Kohli also involved.

Nadal jumped in a powerboat for a special drag race with Smith and managed to beat him to victory despite the actor making a late comeback. In a video posted to Instagram, Nadal looked focused in the cockpit as he guided his boat across the finish line in style.

E1 is the world’s first and only all-electric race boat championship and is officially sanctioned by UIM, the world governing body of powerboating. Those involved are aiming to drive sustainable change and make a positive impact on marine mobility via clean technologies.
The unique series also has a mission to help local communities through projects aimed at restoring marine ecosystems on the shorelines of coastal towns.

In a press release, Nadal said: “As a professional athlete, I am acutely aware of the positive effect that smaller steps have on improving performance. To see E1 apply this same competitive spirit and approach to optimise performance and efficiency in sustainable marine mobility is good news for our oceans.”

It comes after Nadal announced that he would be skipping the US Open to rest and recuperate after a tiring summer period. He reached the final of the Swedish Open before playing in the men’s singles and men’s doubles events at the Olympics, teaming up with reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal is widely expected to hang up his racket in the near future but recently insisted that he was in no rush to finalise his retirement plans.

“I’m not in a hurry to make a decision about my future,” he said. “What is certain is that I will be in the Laver Cup and then we will see. I can’t spend all day thinking about that [retirement]. “I come here and you ask me the same thing every day and in the end it’s very difficult to get back to my best form if I think about whether I’m going to retire or not.”