Manacor, Spain - World number two Rafael Nadal is only 21, but he is already thinking of his future beyond tennis and is convinced his privileged position gives him the chance to help others. "This can be the beginning of my future, when I retire and have more time," the Spaniard said Wednesday as he launched the Rafa Nadal Foundation in his native town, Manacor, on the island of Mallorca.
"I am doing very well and I owe society," Nadal said.
As he launched the foundation - set to focus on social work and development aid - he was proudly watched by his parents, his uncles and his four grandparents at the restaurant of the Manacor Tennis Club, where he has been playing since he was a child and where he is currently preparing his return to the ATP circuit next week in Rotterdam.
Nadal, a thoughtful player who constantly observes the world around him, is conscious of reality.
"A month-and-a-half ago I was in Chennai, in India. The truth is we live great here. And if I can contribute something with my image..." he said.
The tennis player recalled other charity projects that he has been involved in, like a match against Malaria with Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
"We raised an amount of money that we would never have imagined. I have to thank Iker, my project partner, who went all out for it," Nadal said. "That is why the time has come to set up my own foundation and determine the destination of the money."
The foundation will seek to promote "sport as an integration tool for those groups in most need," focusing particularly on childhood and youth.
Ana Maria Parera, Nadal's mother, will chair the foundation, and his father Sebastian will be vice-chairman. Nadal's uncle and coach Toni Nadal and his agent, former tennis player Carlos Costa, will also be involved.
"It makes me proud that Rafa has counted on me, because I chase him around all year," Costa said. "Rafa travels the world and sees things."
On a morning with the threat of rain - leading to change the ceremony from a tennis court to the club restaurant - Costa noted that he is "open to receive projects as from now."
"Rafa was already great, but he has grown even greater today," Manacor Mayor Toni Pastor told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
Nadal's mother, in turn, said she is "very proud" of her son.
The player stressed his commitment to the project, and noted that he plans to follow it closely.
"My involvement is as great as it can be, because I do everything 100 per cent, like tennis," he said.
"I have wanted people who are close to me to make me build the beginning of my future. I am 21, I hope to have a long career, yes, but this can be a start," Nadal said.
Nadal is not the first sportsman to set up a foundation. One of the most famous in tennis is that set up by Swiss world number one Roger Federer, which focuses on Africa - the continent that Federer's mother hails from.
"I have talked a lot about this with Roger, and he tells me that when you are there it is something that fills you with satisfaction. And I think the time has come, it is a beautiful time for my life and for my career," Nadal said.
Despite the fact that poverty in India struck him particularly hard, Nadal wants to start by helping "people close by, in the Balearic Islands, in Spain, and then, if possible, abroad."
"And I want to move little by little," Nadal warned. "Whatever I do, I want to be involved in it. And to do it well. Because I hold the hope of helping those who need it most."
