Rafael Nadal will take the honorary kick off in the LaLiga match between Real Madrid and Santiago Bernabéu. Nadal, who has 21 grand slams,  has been an honorary member at Real Madrid since 2011.

Nadal is a passionate supporter of the Real Madrid soccer club. The reason Nadal supports Real Madrid is that his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal played for the club before he joined Barcelona. Miguel Angel Nadal returned to Real Madrid towards the end of his career.

While Nadal has been successful on all surfaces, clay is by far his best surface. He has a record 13 French Opens and many of his clay court records will stand for a long time, especially his 81 consecutive wins on clay, which is the longest single-surface win streak in the Open era.

Rafael Nadal will return to the courts to play at the Madrid Open. He has been recovering from a rib fracture and has not played on clay this year.

Maria Sharapova has joined the Board of Directors of Italian fashion brand Moncler. The company was founded in France but was bought by Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini in 2003.

Sharapova announced the news on Instagram. Sharapova, who recently announced her pregnancy, teased that the baby’s first trip could be to Milan, Italy, where Moncler is based.

Moncler is known for its skiwear. In December 2021, Moncler became the official partner of the football club Inter Milan. 

Since retiring from tennis, Maria Sharapova has become an investor and advisor to businesses. She is the Chief Athletic Officer of Skills, an education platform focused on sports. She is an investor and advisor to wellness company Therabody.