Martin de la Puente’s joy knows no bounds, as he realized a dream by playing an exhibition doubles match with tennis legend Rafael Nadal in Chile last month.
Nadal, 36, is widely regarded as one of the best players in the sport’s history, winning a record 22 Grand Slam titles, among countless other honors. Last month, the Spaniard and Casper Ruud embarked on a whirlwind exhibition tour of Latin America, touring six countries in ten days.
During the Chile leg of his tour in Santiago last week, Nadal teamed up with De La Puente, the World No. 1 doubles player in wheelchair doubles. In a presentation of Toyota’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes for the 2024 Games in Paris, De La Puente told Marca that playing with Nadal was one of the things on his to-do list:
“It’s a dream come true, one of the things to cross off the list. He is a legend and a reference.”
The 23-year-old from Galicia, Spain, ended the year with the US Open and Masters Cup titles.
