Rafael Nadal Married: Tennis Star Weds Longtime GF Mery Perelló In Mallorca Ceremony

Final score: Love, love! Rafael Nadal married Mery Xisca Perelló in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by family and friends after 14 years of dating.

Rafael Nadal, 33, is a married man! The tennis star, and current men’s world number two, married his longtime girlfriend Mery  Xisca Perelló, 31. The couple wed on Saturday, Oct. 19 in front of their friends and family on the gorgeous Spanish island of Mallorca — Rafael’s home — according to AFP. The couple reportedly invited 350 guests for the private ceremony, which took place at the British owned La Fortaleza estate. Mery wore a dress by designer Rosa Clara, and guests dined on food by Michelin-star chef Quique Dacosta.

Maria and Rafael got engaged in May 2018 and have been in a longtime relationship since 2005. While Rafael is known around the world as a major tennis star, he’s kept his personal life very secret. The Grand Slam champion started dating Maria, nicknamed Xisca, when the two were just teenagers! At 18-years-old, Rafael was a rising tennis star and chose to keep his relationship with Maria out of the spotlight.

Though it wasn’t widely known at the time, Maria actually made one of her first appearances to support Rafael at the 2007 Wimbledon tournament. Since the pair got together, Maria has gone on to earn her degree in business and now works at the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, while Rafael has won a whopping 19 Grand Slam titles!

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An overwhelming wedding day for all of us! We feel incredibly proud for taking part in such an important day – Mery Perelló and Rafa Nadal’s wedding. We would like to congratulate the gorgeous and unique couple, we wish you the best forever! Rosa Clará is the designer of Mery Perelló’s wedding dress, an exquisitely clean-lined haute couture design. The bodice, with jewel neckline and long sleeves, was made of beautiful Art Deco-inspired French lace with delicate patterning, flower motifs and microbeading on the meticulously hand-embroidered fabric. The ballgown-style skirt, made of silk crepe, featured a weightless detachable train, created in Rosa Clara’s Atelier. The whole process was full of emotions between all of us. We just want to thank the whole family for trusting in us, you’re extraordinary. ___ ¡Hoy es un día muy emocionante para todos nosotros! Nos sentimos enormemente orgullosos por haber formado parte en un día tan especial – la boda de Mery Perelló y Rafa Nadal. Nos encantaría felicitar a la pareja por su matrimonio, ¡los mejores deseos! Rosa Clará es la diseñadora del vestido que lucía Mery Perelló, ¡estaba espectacular! Un elegante y sofisticado diseño de alta costura, de líneas puras y delicadas. El cuerpo, de escote caja y manga larga, está realizado en encaje francés, inspirado en el movimiento artístico Art Déco, compuesto por motivos gráficos y florales. Está bordado a mano, de manera meticulosa con micropedrería incrustada en el dibujo. La falda, de línea evasé, confeccionada en crepe de seda natural, incorpora una ligera sobrecola extraíble. El vestido ha sido elaborado en el Atelier de Rosa Clará con un trabajo de excepcional técnica y artesanía, y muchísimas emociones entre todos nosotros. Queremos agradecer a toda la familia por haber confiado en nosotros, ¡sois extraordinarios! __ #RosaClara #RosaClaraCouture #RafaNadal #Wedding #BridalFashion #RealBride

A post shared by Rosa Clará (@rosa_clara) on Oct 19, 2019 at 6:31am PDT

Rafael’s now wife was in full fan mode at the recent US Open in September 2019. The Spaniard took on Russian Daniil Medvedev, 23, in the final, playing a full five set match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York. It was an incredibly dramatic match, with each player trading sets back and forth. All the while, Maria was on the sidelines cheering her fiancé on and getting very involved in the emotion and excitement of the long match. In the end, Rafael triumphed to earn his fourth US Open title. While Rafael is an aggressive player on the court and Maria an avid supporter in the stands, their wedding didn’t have any tennis pressure at all. But the final score was definitely love. Congrats to the happy couple!