Kia’s relationship with tennis player Rafael Nadal
Kia has sponsored Nadal since 2004.
Nadal 2022: “Thank you for hunger”
Kia released a video tribute to Rafael Nadal, the ‘God of Clay’ who was called the emperor of the clay court, who recently announced his retirement. This video is full of tributes to Nadal, whom he has supported since 2004, and his 20 years of friendship.
On the 22nd, a video containing Rafael Nadal’s story was uploaded to the Kia Worldwide YouTube channel. This video appears to convey Nadal’s gratitude for the great games he has shown, as he recently retired after ending his 24-year career as a professional player.
In the video, hard, clay, and grass courts that seem to symbolize the four major tournaments (Australia, France, Wimbledon, and US Open) appear one after another. Along with this, Nadal’s distinctive gasping sound and commentary on each key period of his career appear.
In the words of Carlos Moya, who was Nadal’s coach in the early days of his debut, the broadcaster said, “He is the best 16-year-old. His composure, tactics, etc. are improving so fast that you wonder where he will end.” Referring to the serious injury that Nadal suffered during his career and his subsequent comeback, it also included broadcast commentary such as “Rafael Nadal’s return, a miracle in Melbourne” and “He is still the king on clay in Paris.” The broadcaster’s remarks ended with “Thank you so much for everything.”
The reason why Kia released a 1 minute and 30 second tribute video containing Nadal’s life story is because of the close ‘friendship’ between Kia and Nadal that has lasted for nearly 20 years.
Nadal debuted as a professional in 2001 when he was 16 years old, won 10 tournaments in his teens, and set a record of 60 consecutive clay court wins, but suffered a slump after getting injured at the age of 18. Kia, which noticed the potential of Nadal, who was suffering from a slump due to injury, signed its first sponsorship contract with Nadal in 2004, and extended the partnership until 2025, promising to continue to accompany Nadal for 21 consecutive years.
Nadal also actively promoted Kia whenever it launched a new car in Europe. When Kia launched its first electric vehicle, the EV6, in Europe, it actively participated in the event and demonstrated the V2L function that supplies general power to the outside of the vehicle. Additionally, whenever Kia served as an official sponsor of the Australian Open, it also contributed to Kia’s global marketing.
For example, Nadal presented online video content telling the story behind the competition while riding Kia’s Stinger in 2019, and in 2015, the ‘Kia X-Car’, which applied the movie ‘X-Men’ theme to Nadal’s Sportage vehicle ‘ was also revealed. After lifting the trophy in the final of the Australian Open tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia in 2022, he said, “I am especially grateful to Kia for supporting me since I started playing tennis.”
Nadal has been consistently posting videos and photos related to hunger through social media. In 2015, after receiving a top-of-the-line Mercedes model as the winning prize in a competition sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, he made headlines by saying, “It’s not as good as my sponsor, Kia.”
Kia included the best tribute to Nadal at the end of this video. “To the boy from Manacor (Nadal’s hometown) who touched the world.” This is a response to his last words at the Davis Cup ‘retirement game’ held in Malaga, Spain on the 20th (local time). “I want to be remembered as a good person. I want to be remembered as a kid who chased his dreams and achieved more than those dreams.”
Choi Soo-jin, Hankyung.com reporter [email protected]
