Savage junior tennis standout Max Exsted practices with Rafael Nadal ahead of Olympics

After winning the Australian Open junior doubles title earlier this year and globetrotting as one of America’s top junior tennis players, Max Exsted is getting a little time with tennis royalty this week.

Rafael Nadal is preparing for the Paris Olympics, and Exsted is spending some time training at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, Spain. So the two had a practice session Thursday with another scheduled for Friday.

“I played really well, actually. … I was really nervous the first ball,” Exsted said in a voice message sent over What’sApp. “But I didn’t shank any.”

Exsted reached the second round in singles at the French Open and the quarterfinals in doubles with his teammate Cooper Woestendick, but Exsted couldn’t compete in the quarters after a stomach illness shut him down.

He’s No. 29 on the International Tennis Federation junior rankings. For his age group, he’s No. 11 in the world.

Nadal has been battling injuries for the last few years and recently lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev, who reached the final. After the tournament, Nadal announced he wouldn’t play Wimbledon and instead would focus on playing for Spain in the Olympics.

Exsted said it was a standard practice, outside of one of the two or three greatest players in history standing across the net.

“I didn’t talk much with Rafa, but he told me bravo, Max, bravo, after a drill,” Exsted said.

Once Nadal existed the court, Exsted got back to work with his coaches, working on improving his own forehand.