Some tennis fans have expressed their concern for Rafael Nadal on social media after he shared a recent picture of himself alongside fellow tennis great Roger Federer.
Nadal took to social media on Wednesday to post the image with the caption: ‘Look who I found in Madrid!’
And while the post has received a lot of adulation, there are some fans who are shocked by Nadal’s slim physique.
During his playing days, Nadal possessed a muscular frame which helped propel him to 22 Grand Slams – 14 of which came at the French Open.
Since retiring in November 2024, Nadal has not needed to put his body through the rigorous requirements to reach the top – leaving fans shocked by the change in his appearance.
Tennis fans have expressed concerns for the slimmed down physique of Rafael Nadal (left)
During his glittering playing days, the Spaniard was known for his muscular frame
‘Two LEGENDS like Nadal and Federer have been spotted by chance around Madrid.
‘Keep an eye on how much weight Rafa has lost in recent months. He’s turned into a real stick figure!!’ commented one person who works in media.
Another user remarked: ‘Federer is still looking good, he turns 45 in a few months, he has looked after his body well over the years.
‘Nadal unfortunately looks a bit gaunt and aged here he’s still in his 30s, I just hope he hasn’t done any long term health damage after his tennis career.’
Those two aforementioned posts were on X, and the sentiment was the same on Instagram among others.
‘Nadal looks thinner, it seems like he’s lost muscle mass and is even thinner than Federer,’ said one account, while another posted: ‘We need muscly Nadal back.’
Despite those comments, there were those who took a more positive view of Nadal’s appearance – including a senior writer at Yahoo Sports, Dan Wolken.
‘The comments under here are absurd,’ he wrote.
‘When someone retires from being a professional athlete, their body no longer looks like a professional athlete’s body because they are not spending all their time being a professional athlete. This isn’t complicated.’
