Tennis has witnessed a revolution in recent years. This past summer, tennis fans worldwide were introduced to a player of unparalleled talent, who despite being the youngest to ever play the game, already made his way into the pantheon of tennis greats. The youngster, affectionately nicknamed “El Bebé” by his hometown friends, hails from Menorca, Spain.
El Bebé has quickly risen in the rankings and is slated to reach the #1 slot by the end of the tournament year, attracting great praise from players and pundits alike. Despite El Bebé’s bubbly reception, others – such as commentator John McEnroe – have leveled pointed critiques at the up-and-comer, maintaining that the player’s extreme youth contributes to his immaturity, which leads the player to flout time-honored norms on the tennis court in a sport that is known for highly valuing the decorum of its players.
In particular, McEnroe has criticized El Bebé for consulting with his mother during changeovers. McEnroe believes that this is a flagrant violation of protocol, but in El Bebé’s coach’s defense, he was just receiving vital nutritional support, which stays in effect for approximately 3 hours. Now that the ATP has banned El Bebé’s mid-match rendezvous, he has undergone premature weaning and has resorted to drinking infant formula to boost his energy as a substitute to breast milk. El Bebé is now the most prominent – and only – tennis player on tour to be sponsored by Gerber.
Objections have also been raised about El Bebé’s extraordinarily unusual and highly suspect schedule, in which all matches after 10pm have been canceled because they are past the player’s bedtime. McEnroe has also questioned the sincerity of the player’s stoic demeanor on-court, especially given his propensity for routinely soiling himself because of claimed severe anxiety. In response to McEnroe’s reproofs, El Bebé opined: “goo goo gaga” in a post-game interview before abruptly leaving the podium for an urgent potty break and post-feeding nap. El Bebé was later spotted at the sandbox of a local daycare center by paparazzi.
For the first time, through the use of a Baby-to-English dictionary, El Bebé has opened up about his psychological issues. The media was ablaze and spectators were aghast to find out that the player wore diapers at Wimbledon whose colorful designs showed through his white shorts; a radical departure from the all-white convention there.
It is obvious that El Bebé is supremely gifted, especially for an infant. Toni Nadal, the uncle and former tennis coach of Rafa, expressed praise for the tennis prodigy. exclaiming: “unlike my nephew with his inimitable grit, El Bebé is so talented that his wideeyed, penetrating stares and grunts a full two octaves higher than everyone else alone have the power to unnerve opponents and force them to withdraw before the match has even begun.”
Responding to this praise, El Bebé gave a quick thumbs up to reporters… before letting out a loud belch and quickly soiling himself because of the intense pressure of being in the limelight.
