Rory McIlroy made history at the 2026 edition of The Masters by becoming just the fourth man in history to win the prestigious tournament back-to-back.
The 36-year-old Northern Irishman joined golfing legends Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo in the list of players who have achieved the incredible feat.
Along with several other celebrities, in attendance at Augusta National Golf Club was none other than 22-time tennis Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
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Nadal has had a keen interest in golf for years, and the Spaniard has publicly revealed he has been a longtime fan of McIlroy, whom he was in contact with throughout The Masters.
Rory McIlroy says Rafael Nadal was sending him voice notes at The Masters
Speaking at the Laureus awards, where he won comeback of the year, McIlroy said: “I saw Rafa a lot at Augusta.
“To have his support… he’d leave me little voice notes at the end of every day and it’s really cool when you have one of the absolute legends of sport cheering you on like that.
“And him knowing what it feels like to be in that position – that’s really cool.”
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Asked if he has had the chance to play golf with world number two Carlos Alcaraz yet, McIlroy said: Not yet.
“I got to meet him at the U.S. Open last year and I know he’s really loving his golf and playing quite a lot.
“I think he plays any day he has off during a tournament, so hopefully one day we’ll get a round in.”
Rory McIlroy pinpoints the difference between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
McIlroy continued: “I’ve always loved tennis. There are so many similarities between golf and tennis, individual sports.
“You’re really out there on your own. You have to figure it out by yourself. And I think both games mentally are very, very taxing and challenging in their own ways. Rafa and Roger have now retired.
“Novak is not retired, but certainly getting to the latter stages of his career. And we were all wondering, ‘who is next?’
“And then you have these two guys in Carlos and Jannik that have come along and are just playing some of the most incredible tennis.
“What makes this rivalry so special is they have very different styles. Carlos plays with emotion, with his heart on his sleeve.
“And Jannik is just like an absolute robot, doesn’t make a mistake, is unbelievable to watch hit the ball, and I think the contrast in styles … as a tennis fan it makes me really excited for the next few years to be able to watch them battle it out.”
Alcaraz and Sinner clashed for the first time in 2026 in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where the Italian came out on top.
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