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There are plenty of iconic celebrity friendships: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, but one of the most unexpected duos is Ben Stiller and Rafael Nadal. The 59-year-old actor has cheered for Nadal over the years at his matches, sitting in his player's box.
The Hollywood actor and tennis superstar have been friends for nearly a decade, and it all started with a casual meeting that led to one unforgettable moment at Madison Square Garden.
In 2022, Stiller opened up about their friendship on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “We were at a tournament and we ran into his people. Then we got introduced,” he explained. “So we sort of stayed in touch.”
That connection brought a hilarious moment when the now-retired Nadal invited Stiller to an exhibition match against Juan Martín del Potro. “He invited me, a few years back, to see an exhibition match at Madison Square Garden, which was really exciting, because, first of all, it's the Garden, so it's, you know, that electric atmosphere. And you don't see tennis there that often.”
What Stiller didn’t expect was to actually play.“We got to sit in the front row. And it was him and Juan Martín del Potro, who is another amazing Argentine player. And they’re doing the match, and about halfway through the match, Nadal stops and he goes, ‘Wait. Should we make it doubles?’” Stiller said, complete with a Nadal impression.
“And then he looks at me and he goes, ‘Come on, Ben Stiller, Ben Stiller, come on.’ And he comes up to me and he pulls me out of the crowd, which is simultaneously, like, the greatest—it’s like a dream come true to be in Madison Square Garden. And people start cheering. And, also, it's this nightmare that's happening simultaneously, because I realize I really don't play tennis," the Tropic Thunder star said.
Wearing street clothes and leather boots, Stiller had a full “I don’t want to do this in front of everybody” moment before walking onto the court. “I got up there, and then del Potro goes, ‘Wait a minute. I must have a partner.’ And he pulls an 8-year-old girl out of the crowd. Like, the cutest little 8-year-old girl,” he recalled.
“Immediately, I just died inside.” Stiller knew he couldn’t win. “There was no way to get out of this thing alive, because if I hit a winner on the 8-year-old girl, everybody hates me. And I don't have enough skills to sort of hold it back, because I'm all or nothing.”
Nadal served. The girl returned it perfectly. The crowd went wild. “It comes to me - boom - right into the net. Immediately, just like - just all of Madison Square Garden: ‘Ugh!’” he laughed.
They played four more points. “Every time, the girl hits it. They cheer every time. I went back into the net four times. And del Potro puts the girl on his shoulders, and they're cheering, and she walks off. And then I walk -I didn’t make eye contact with Nadal, my wife, anybody. Anybody in the crowd.”
But something good did come out of it.“I resolved to become the best tennis player in the world,” Stiller joked. “I started taking lessons like six years ago. And so I’m ready if it ever happens in life that somebody pulls me out of the crowd to go play tennis with them, which probably won’t ever happen again.”
As for the little girl, Miller said, “I want a rematch with her." Check out the match below.