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Rafael Nadal, 39, and Mery Perelló, 37, have welcomed their second child at the Quirónsalud Palmaplanas Hospital in Palma. The baby adds even more excitement to this new chapter in the tennis star’s life since he made the difficult decision to retire from professional tennis.
The baby has been named Miquel, which, according to the Europa Press news agency, is a special tribute the happy parents wanted to make to Mery’s father, who passed away in April 2023 at the age of 63 after a long illness. With Miquel’s arrival, the couple expands their family of three, which already included Rafael Junior, their firstborn, now 2 years and 10 months old.
Rafael Nadal’s new chapter: Family over tennis
Everything has changed for the Manacor athlete in recent years. When his career was nearing its final stretch, Rafa came into the world—a long-awaited child who is now almost three and has just become a big brother. The couple never hid their desire to become parents. “I would love to be a father. I always thought I’d do it when I retired,” Nadal said in 2020 in Mi casa es la tuya. His retirement came later than he had probably expected, but his first child arrived earlier, on October 8, 2022. As he likely anticipated, his life took a dramatic turn. “In most ways it’s been for the better because, even if I’ve lost or gotten injured, coming home and seeing him changes my mood,” he said a few months ago on El Hormiguero, a famous TV show in Spain.
After becoming a father, it was time to say goodbye to the tennis courts and start a new chapter focused on his business ventures, but above all, on his family. He announced his decision on October 10, 2024, in an unforgettable video that featured his most heartfelt words dedicated to his wife: “My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you’ve done. I think you’ve been the perfect partner on this journey throughout all these years of my career. Coming home every day and seeing my son grow has been a source of strength that has truly kept me alive and given me the energy to keep going,” he said.
They met in the Mallorcan town of Manacor, their hometown, when they were teenagers, and they’ve been together ever since. Always private about their personal lives, Rafa and Mery sealed their discreet but solid relationship with their wedding in 2019. After more than 14 years together, they said “I do” in front of about 250 guests in an outdoor religious ceremony held at Sa Fortaleza, a 17th-century castle in the north of Mallorca. Five years later, they have built a beautiful family of four, to which Rafa now has the privilege of devoting all the time that was once taken up by the demands of his life as an athlete.