"I would be freaking out" - Jessica Pegula reacts to Rafael Nadal's "chill" reaction to ball-boy taking his racket during his Australian Open match

Rafael Nadal's racket was taken by a ball-boy during his first-round clash at the 2023 Australian Open, but the Spaniard remained calm as he explained the situation to the chair umpire. World No. 3 Jessica Pegula recently stated that her reaction would've been very different had it happened to her.

During the first set of his clash with the Brit, the 35-year-old had assigned one of the ball kids to restring his racket, however, due to a lack of communication, the ball kid took the racket that the veteran was ready to play with.

Despite requesting for the racket to be returned to him, the Spanish maestro laughed off the situation and carried on with another one. He also explained the reason for the delay to his opponent, Jack Draper.

Pegula, 28, turned to social media to reflect on the lighthearted moment from Day 1 of the Major. The American stated that she would've freaked out if she was in Nadal's position.

"Ok I would be freaking out," Pegula captioned her post.

Ok I would be freaking out 😂 twitter.com/australianopen…

The Mallorcan later spoke to Eurosport and shed some light on the issue by saying it was not a distraction. He also added that it was not a big deal at all.

"Not distracting, just a funny situation. But normally, I have the number of the rackets under control, so I say, I need the string," Nadal said. "But I need the string to other racket, he picked the racket that I was ready to play [with]. But well, just an anecdote, yeah. No problem at all," he said.

💬 @Babsschett: "I've 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 seen anything like that!"

Rafa Nadal explains what happened when a ball kid 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 stole his racquet 🤣

#AusOpen | @RafaelNadal https://t.co/vGfnUYbNnE

"Victory helps, I can't lie on that" - Rafael Nadal after his win against Jack Draper in the Australian Open 2023

Rafael Nadal kicked off his Australian Open 2023 campaign with a win over 21-year-old Draper at Melbourne Park on Day 1 of the Grand Slam. The 35-year-old won the first set before losing the second to the Brit. However, he quickly regained his composure to beat the youngster and seal his spot in the second round.

At the press conference, the World No. 2 reflected on his win and stated that winning matches definitely provides confidence.

"Victory helps, I can't lie on that. When you win matches, you are more relax. You are more confident. You have better chances to resist these moments," he said.

The defending champion will lock horns with Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the tournament.