Rafael Nadal helps Team Nadal beat Team Murray 4-3 in Manacor exhibition

Rafael Nadal helped Team Nadal to a 4-3 victory over Team Murray in an exhibition at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor on Saturday.

The event marked the academy's 10th anniversary and provided Nadal with what the report described as his first taste of competitive-looking tennis since his retirement in 2024. The eight former touring professionals who took part were Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Dominic Thiem, Fabio Fognini, Marat Safin, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet. Organisers split the players into two teams: Nadal joined Moya, Ferrer and Gasquet while Murray’s side featured Thiem, Fognini and Safin.

Moya and Gasquet opened the match sequence with a 10-0 victory over Fognini and Safin. Murray and Thiem responded by narrowly defeating Nadal and Ferrer 10-9. Thiem and Fognini then beat Ferrer and Gasquet 10-8 to give Team Murray the lead.

Nadal, pairing with Gasquet against Murray and Safin, produced one of the loudest moments of the afternoon as they won 10-0. Moya and Ferrer later overcame Thiem and Safin 10-8 to level the contest and set up the decisive matches.

In the penultimate match Nadal and Moya faced Murray and Fognini, with Murray and Fognini prevailing 10-7 to force an additional deciding tie-break. The same four players returned to court and Nadal and Moya won the final tie-break 7-5 to complete a 4-3 overall victory for Team Nadal.

The exhibition featured doubles-only contests with each match decided by a 10-point super tie-break, and the occasion was described as more a reunion of players than a serious competitive event. The day included entertainment and other activities around the tennis as part of the academy's anniversary programme.

Their presence revisited a notable past rivalry: Nadal and Murray met 24 times between 2007 and 2016, with Nadal winning 17 of those meetings, and both were identified as members of the era that also featured Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Nearly two years after his final professional appearance, Nadal again walked onto a court in front of his home crowd, racket in hand, competing, smiling and winning for one nostalgic evening.