Rafael Nadal finally reveals how he would have reacted if someone knocked over his water bottles during a match

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Rafael Nadal enjoyed a legendary tennis career, enjoying particular success at the French Open.

Setting a seemingly unbreakable record, Nadal took home 14 French Open titles during his time in the sport, winning 112 of his 116 matches at the event.

Following the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, Nadal retired from tennis and received a heavily criticized farewell ceremony in Malaga.

Giving him the send-off he deserved, the French Open honored Nadal on the opening day of the 2025 tournament.

Nadal’s ‘big four’ rivals, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray, were all present on Court Philippe Chatrier as they waved goodbye to one of the sport’s greatest-ever players.

There are several reasons why tennis will never forget the Spanish legend, although one of the 22-time Major champions’ quirks will likely be remembered forever.

Speaking recently, Nadal shared his thoughts on his iconic water bottle routine, which fans became used to seeing over the years.

Rafael Nadal says it ‘wouldn’t have bothered’ him if someone knocked his water bottles down

During an interview with Prime Sports, Nadal revealed what he would’ve done if someone knocked his water bottles over during a match.

“It will never bother me if somebody puts the bottles down, because it was not a superstition,” he said.

“It was about the routine of doing the same thing all the time. That was the thing more than anything else.”

Nadal went on to explain how he tried to change his habits over the years, but found the ‘routine’ helped him stay focused.

“Being very, very honest, I tried to fix all these things. I arrived at some matches where I tried to say, let’s not do all these stupid routines,” he said.

“But then there would arrive a moment that I felt at the beginning of my career, when I was very young, that I didn’t need all these routines to be 100% focused.

“But then later, tennis is probably one of the most mentally demanding sports, so in some way when I was doing all these routines with the bottles and the rest of the things, I was focused. 

“I didn’t give myself time to think about anything else. I know I had to do this, this, and this. It gave me, in some ways, the peace of just being focused on what I had to do.

“I was doing this, but at the same time, I was thinking about what I had to do. What I have to keep doing if things were working well, or what I have to change to change the dynamic of the match. That is about routines.”

With that being said, the former ATP world number one denied being ‘superstitious’ at all.

“The people because of that probably think that I am very superstitious,” said Nadal.

“But outside of the tennis court, I am not full of that, and I am not organised.”

Times Rafael Nadal’s water bottles were knocked over

Perhaps it was lucky for Nadal that it wasn’t a superstition, as there were several instances where his water bottles were knocked over.

At Wimbledon in 2014, Nadal took on Lukas Rosol in the second round, who purposefully knocked over the Spaniard’s bottle during a changeover.

If the Czech star was trying to get in Nadal’s head, he didn’t do a great job of it, as Rosol fell to defeat in four sets, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 4-6.

A similar incident occurred at the 2013 Monte-Carlo Masters, when Australia’s Marinko Matosevic knocked his bottle over on purpose.

Nadal smiled and laughed with his team before going on to win in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.

It wasn’t just Nadal’s opponents who knocked down his water bottles, as the weather often had a part to play.

When serving for the match against Kevin Anderson at the 2015 Australian Open, the wind knocked over one of Nadal’s water bottles at 2-0, 5-4, 15-0.

A ball boy quickly rushed over to the bottles and carefully repositioned them, much to the amusement of Nadal and the Melbourne crowd.

After the match, Nadal denied asking the ball boy to fix the bottles, joking with the interviewer about the ‘stupid’ things he does.

“No I didn’t ask,” he said.

“Seriously, it’s not bothering me, just very stupid things you do after a lot of years competing.”

Fans will no doubt miss Nadal’s water bottle tradition, although there are plenty of memories to look back upon.