Rafael Nadal competes at the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship, finishes first round at No. 3 on the leaderboard
Rafael Nadal is an avid golfer, and as it turns out, the Spaniard is quite talented at the sport. Two weeks after he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2022 Australian Open to win his 21st Grand Slam title, the World No. 5 has signed up for a golf tournament back home in Mallorca.
The 35-year-old wowed fans with his unexpected third-place finish at the end of the first round of the Balearic Mid-Amateur Golf Championship on Saturday (February 12). He finished the 18-hole course with a score of 74, two strokes more than the par score, and made three birdies in the round.
The Mallorcan is four strokes behind leader Federico Paez and two strokes behind Juan Pedro Manjon. The second and final round will take place tomorrow (February 13).
The tournament's official account shared pictures of the 21-time-Grand Slam champion from the event on their Instagram account when announcing the leaders from Day 1.
"Balearic Mid Amateur Championship - Trablisa 2022: Federico Paez, the only player under par, leads the men's classification with 70 strokes (-2). No. 2 - Juan Pedro Manjon 72 (Par). No. 3 - Rafael Nadal 74 (+2)," the post was captioned.
They also shared a short clip of the former World No. 1 on their Instagram story. It showcases the Spaniard teeing off with a rather surprising right-handed swing.
Rafa on fbaleargolf Ig story https://t.co/SXVoryJQJz
The former World No. 1 last played a golf tournament in November 2021. He competed in the FBG Hexagonal circuit team competition, along with his uncle Toni Nadal and former Barcelona defender Miguel Angel Nadal.
Also part of the team were Antonio de Luca and Peter Mason, both of whom are representatives of his tennis academy in Manacor. They finished fifth in the event, which consisted of 80 teams in total.
Rafael Nadal has signed up for Indian Wells Masters
While most of his fellow players have kept themselves busy following the 2022 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal hasn't played any tennis since his title triumph at Melbourne Park on January 30.
The next confirmed tournament in his schedule is the Indian Wells Masters, which will be held from March 8-20. The three-time winner is part of a very strong line-up that includes World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
Prior to that, the World No. 5 could play at the Acapulco Open but so far, there has been no word from the Mallorcan's camp confirming his participation. With the ATP 500 event scheduled to kick off in one week's time (February 21-27), it is looking less likely that he will make the trip to Mexico.