(Reuters) -As Rafa Nadal gets used life after tennis, he has let go of his racquets to spend time on the Adriatic waves, steering his Team Rafa into electric powerboat racing’s E1 World Championship in Dubrovnik.
Days after the retired 14-times Roland Garros champion was immortalised at the French Open with a permanent footprint on centre court's famed red clay, the Spaniard's racing team tops a tightly contested series heading into the Croatian round, following a dramatic victory last time out in Doha.
Team Rafa currently leads the standings following success in Doha, as the electric boat racing series begins its European leg on June 13-14 along Croatia's coast.
The tennis great's boat is piloted by Spanish professional jet ski racer Cristina Lazarrage and Frenchman Tom Chiappe.
The E1 World Championship is the first all-electric raceboat series sanctioned by powerboating’s global governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), and is designed to accelerate innovation in sustainable marine technology and coastal conservation.
Teams featuring both male and female pilots compete in electric-powered RaceBird boats, racing through urban water circuits in iconic global cities.
Celebrity owners include LeBron James, Tom Brady, Virat Kohli and Didier Drogba as well as 22-times Grand Slam champion Nadal.
The championship continues to Lake Maggiore and Monaco before concluding in Miami, where "Champions of the Water" will be crowned on Nov. 8.
(Writing by Ossian Shine, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
