Team Spain Hits Rottnest Island For Quokka Selfies & Barbeque
Team Spain Hits Rottnest Island For Quokka Selfies & Barbeque
World No. 1 Nadal makes friends with friendly Western Australia wildlife
World No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Team Spain took a trip on Wednesday to Rottnest Island, 18 kilometres west of mainland Australia, ahead of the start of the inaugural ATP Cup that begins on 3 January.
Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta, Feliciano Lopez and captain Francisco Roig joined Nadal on a helicopter trip to the popular holiday island, which is full of sandy beaches and unique wildlife.
Team Spain swam in the sea, posed with the island’s wildlife, including taking selfies with Quokkas, and rode e-bikes to Little Parakeet Bay for a beach barbeque with local seafood.
“Rottnest is really amazing,” said Nadal. “For us, it was a little bit of an early wake-up call with jetlag still affecting us, but the beaches and wildlife are something we will remember for a long time. The Quokkas are super-friendly, and they weren’t afraid to be close. We had some fun with them.
“It’s great to be in Perth and I’m excited to play at the ATP Cup. The people are very supportive to tennis, all around the country, and it’s exciting to share this competition with great team mates. We want to do well.”
Rafa got a Quokka selfie! ?
?: @RafaelNadal | @ATPCup pic.twitter.com/GuO537YIfb
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 1, 2020
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Paul Papalia, Tourism WA Minister, officially welcomed Team Spain on Rottnest Island, saying: “It’s really exciting to have the ATP Cup in Perth and Western Australia. We have the best players in the world here, so people can get up close to watch them in the next few days. Importantly, we’re pleased to have Team Spain here promoting Western Australia, and one of the key visits is to come to Rottnest and get selfies with Quokkas.”
“We are very happy to be here in Perth,” said Lopez. “Tennis is an individual sport, but we’ll be sharing everything that’s going to happen in the week. We’ll be ready to play our first matches on Sunday.”
Team Spain is competing in Group B at the RAC Arena in Perth alongside Japan, Georgia and Uruguay. For latest tournament information, live scores, group standings and more, visit ATPCup.com.