The world’s No. 1 tennis player and PokerStars ambassador, Rafa Nadal, will face the world’s best female poker player, Vanessa Selbst, in a heads-up poker game at Casino de Monte Carlo on Friday, April 11.

Nadal will be in Monaco to compete in the ATP Monte Carlo Masters tournament, bidding for a record ninth victory. While staying at the Côte d'Azur he will take on Team PokerStars Pro Vanessa Selbst in a one-on-one poker game. This is an opportunity for Nadal to build on his charity poker tournament win last December, when he beat Brazilian football legend Ronaldo and one of the best poker players in the world, Daniel Negreanu.

Both Nadal and Selbst are well known for being extremely focused and determined competitors, who possess the strategic technical ability to succeed. Their coming together will prove a fascinating battle of minds.

“It’s no secret that I love the competition and that’s what I like about poker,” Nadal said. “It’s a game of skill that requires mental strength and the ability to out-think your opponents, and in that way there are similarities to tennis. I have been playing poker online for almost two years and now I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing against Vanessa.”

Vanessa Selbst is the highest-earning female poker player of all time with over $9.6 million in poker winnings – playing at 28 final tables and winning 13 tournaments, including two World Series of Poker bracelets. In her time away from poker, Selbst has completed a law degree at Yale.