Duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, duh. (Sorry, that’s supposed to be Mendelssohn’s wedding march but typed out it looks more like the theme from Jaws. . .)
What’s up with tennis players taking it down the aisle in 2009? Roger Federer, Andy Roddick and even Simone Bolelli have all tied the knot with their respective brides, there was that scary Marat Safin rumor and now Rafa and Xisca? Sigh. At least this story is safely in “speculation” territory.
Via the Daily Express:
Tennis ace Rafael Nadal pulled out all the stops to make his holiday with his girlfriend as romantic as possible… but then had to pull out himself. (*wait, is that a double – maybe triple – entendre, or am I a pervert?*)
It was to tie in with his stint playing at the Thailand Open. But Rafael had to drop out at the last minute because of an injury to an abdominal muscle.
The 23 year old had booked into the five-star Thailand resort of Rayavadee, picking the three-bedroom villa facing the sea, for himself and Maria Francesca Perello, 20, whom he has been with for four years.
He also reserved a private boat for a day, private plane and three dedicated butlers.
The trip had set him back around £50,000 and a source says: “It was to be a very important holiday for the two of them and Nadal wanted everything to be as romantic as possible, leading to speculation that he is thinking of proposing.”
If Rafa proposed every time he got on a boat he’d be Elizabeth Taylor, but the butlers and plane do seem strange. Regardless, I think the ATP needs to put a stop to all this matrimony, if it wants to keep its female fan base happy. Save it for retirement kids!
Thanks to Rich at Down The Line! for posting on this.
Tags: Nadal, Nadal girlfriend, Nadal wedding, tennis, xisca
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Yeah, Rafa getting married would be a world class bummer. But:
1) She has the world's coolest name.
2) Holy heck, she's gorgeous.
3) As far as I know, she isn't a Tennis Girlfriend Camp Follower. She goes to school.
4) They've known each other forever.
5) Um, maybe they want to tie the knot and be together and have babies even more gorgeous than those of Roger and Mirka or Tom and Katie? It might be young love.
It won't let me use the thumbs up icon in the top right…so I'm just going to comment by saying you've pretty much covered all the reasons she's amazing! lol
Who are you, Xisca's 1st cousin.
(And, um, that would be Wagner's March, I think.)
awww this is so sweet! congrats & all the best to them!
no problem for the female fan.
nadal's fan deal with his tennis only.
Hmmn. Guess he's not taking the Roger approach. He wants to do it early. Interesting.
Wow, she looks pretty good in a bikini.
Rafa's gotta start working on those triplets. Take that, Roger!
I don't know… while the butlers thing may sound strange, with all that happened in his life this year (injuries and family problems), maybe he just wanted to stay there with Xisca, with maximum comfort and do absolutely nothing. His uncle had made him live a very "real" life for a long time, tried to keep him away from excessive luxury and all that. But with all he has already achieved, I think sometimes Rafa deserves a break and deserves to enjoy having all this money and still being in his early 20's. I wouldn't be surprised if he proposed to her, but maybe he really wanted to chill and at least for once get everything done by someone else, while he and Xisca stayed on the beach and just enjoyed each other's company.
Give Rafa a break. He's 23 years old and has much to do before making a commitment as huge as marriage. Xisca is a beautiful young girl but she is YOUNG as well. If the life expectancy for 20 year olds today is 90 – 100, why not spend the first 30 years getting to know the world around you and enjoying your freedom. There's plenty of time for marriage and family once you head into your 30's.
I don't think Roger Federer would be married today if Mirka hadn't gotten preggers and Roger is five years older than Rafa. Marriage and professional sports do not work well for even the best intended. When Rafa decides to marry, he will want the marriage to work for a lifetime. When he retires from tennis he'll have his whole life to dedicate to marriage and family. Leave him alone!!!!!
Hi Gina, is your comment addressed to Xisca? Are you sure she reads this blog? Because i certainly don't see anybody here pushing Rafa into marriage! Except possibly Liz, but her comment looks like it was done with her tongue firmly implanted in her cheek.
No, my remarks were not addressed to Xisca and I wish her all the best. There have been more than just a couple of articles and videos this year addressing Rafa's intentions regarding marriage . No one seems to be asking Andy Murray, or Nole or any other single top ten player when they're going to get married. The press is just looking for drama and Rafa in my opinion is not a drama person. As a Nadal fan I'd just like to see him fulfill his potential, and I think he could do that best being single awhile longer.
Yes, my comments should usually be taken with a grain of salt…except when discussing how wonderful Roger is, of course!
Maybe marriage is contagious? Lol, Rafa and X are a very cute couple. All the best to them!
Let's give it a year or so and see how Roger's marriage and fatherhood benefit his tennis shall we.
We shall certainly see.
Meanwhile, we can remind ourselves that when Andre Agassi married Steffi Graf and their son was born in October 2001, he was ranked number 3. By the end of the following year, at 32 years of age, he was the oldest ever year-end number 2 in ATP rankings. In 2003, at the age of 33 and the year when his daughter was born, he won his eighth Slam in Australia and later that year became the oldest ever number 1! He held the top ranking for 14 weeks that year. Not too shabby, for a 33-year-old geezer who was married for the second time and had two children.
Of course, Agassi is an exceptional case, but if anybody can rival him it definitely is the great Roger. After all, aren't they the only two career Grand Slammers among male players in the last 40 years? Considering that Federer is only 28 now, there is no reason to doubt that he may be able to remain on top of the tennis world for at least a couple of years. As long as he can stay away from injuries, he should be fine.
Your right! We shall see…………
Yes, and Andre was 30+ years old, not 23. Remember the discussion is about Rafa, not Roger.
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I think it's to soon for Rafa to get married he's 23 and she's 20. I know they've been together for four years but I don't think they have to get married now.
I hope Rafa does whatever makes him the happiest.
I think this is all just gossssip! Sure he wanted a romantic getaway with his lovely girl but I am sure thats it! Rafa is too young and doesn't seem the type to get married yet, besides she has her career and Rafa his it would be pointless and I am sure Rafa being a pragmatist knows what he is doing, he is only 23 and has much tennis ahead of him! God bless him, he is totally adoreable!
I agree with you that it's probably gossip, and if he wants three bedrooms and three butlers — well he's a rich kid.
But I'm a Romantic. It's not like they're 18, and if they want to get married because they're in love I say go for it. I really don't think his game would suffer, she could have a career, and they could have a long, happy marriage. "Ordinary" Peeps do it all the time.
Probably gossip.
awwwww, they look so in love! heck, i hope they DO get engaged, married, and start a family!! rafa, the fedophile, is just taking after rog! lol
I believe this was started by The Daily Express, the UK paper that is still obsessed with Princess Diana and the various conspiracies around her death. Just so you know…
These are false rumors. Rafa had booked this far in advanced, as fishing excursion for him and 12 of his buddies.
Thanks for the info, Girl from MI!
But now a new rumor will start – Rafa and Xisca are on the skids!
(Just kidding!)
Oh and just to clarify for readers — when I call something "Gossip" I really do mean that it is just gossip! Stories like these are fun and harmless. Unlike gossip about steroids and stuff like that, which I do not encourage at all!
Rarely is gossip sweet and lighthearted. Rafa has asked the media to "not comment" on his personal life. This sort of nonsense may do more harm than we know.
I agree that some things can do harm or are just in poor taste. For example, I personally did not post much about Rafa's parents' divorce (or that of Melanie Oudin's parents) because I think that family tragedies are intensely personal and people should be left alone to deal with them. But a silly story (the newspaper even admits it's just speculation) about Rafa's love life probably does little more than raise his public profile and gain him more fans and sponsorship money. If that's an annoyance of being an international sports superstar, I'd take it!
All rumors and such, but 3 bedrooms for 2 people – a little excessive. Fishing with buds makes more sense. The cost – exaggerated? Expensive fishing trip.
I remember Rafa was supposed to go fishing with pals, they would do it while he was in Asia for both Malaysia Open and Masters Shanghai.
Rafa is still young, I don't think he wants to get married too soon. He's such a dedicated athlete and always focuses in his tennis carreer. That's the only truth. Anything else is just… gossip.