‘An important part of my life is leaving too,’ says emotional Rafael Nadal. Getty Images/Mauricio Abrantes
The world’s most valuable athlete has finally settled his account with his own performance and will be compensated by a sponsor for his use of sponsor-provided clothing at the time of the scandal.
Rafael Nadal is in the final stages of negotiations with Adidas to have his sponsor-provided attire reimbursed. Adidas had provided him with $20,000 worth of apparel and accessories, ranging from shirts to shorts, which were worn with his red shorts during his recent three-set loss against Milos Raonic.
“There was a lot of controversy to be involved with,” Nadal said when discussing the scandal. “I respect all of the people involved and how they handled themselves.”
Nadal says he will return the money his Adidas has paid him to wear the outfits. He’ll also have Nike, which also sponsored him, reimburse him for the shorts he wore during the match, as well as those he was photographed wearing during the incident.
Nadal says he was “a little bit emotional” after the game because he had to come to terms with the way he performed.
“For me to be able to feel like I played a great match is important. And I’m always a little bit emotional in these matches, especially when you play [well] but you should have lost,” said Nadal.
His win over Raonic was his fifth Premier League title and first in the last 11 seasons, so he has now amassed 13 title victories to go with his 10 majors. His win over Federer was his fourth Masters title of the last five years, so he has accumulated nine major victories to go with 15 major titles.
Nadal has finished runner-up in all five of his Wimbledon titles, and has won five ATP titles, tying him with Pete Sampras’s record.
Despite being one of the world’s most recognizable athletes, he has chosen to stay low-key about the controversy.
“I didn’t want to create any hype or attention, because I wanted to come to terms with what happened and to come to a conclusion,” said Nadal.
“After the match, I was a little bit upset, because I was playing great and winning,