Rafael Nadal issues 'alarming message' to fans with urgent statement

Rafael Nadal has issued an urgent statement to his fans after spotting "something unusual". Nadal retired last year at the Davis Cup, competing for Spain at the end of an iconic career that saw him win 22 Grand Slam titles in total in an era with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

The 39-year-old has kept a relatively low profile since, but did return to the French Open this year, where he was commemorated in a farewell ceremony. He was awarded a plaque of his footprint, which will forever remain on Court Philippe-Chatrier, as Federer, Djokovic and Andy Murray joined Nadal to pay tribute to his illustrious career.

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But the tennis legend has been made aware of fake AI videos being made of him in order to sell investments.

On social media, Nadal wrote: "Hello everyone, I'm sharing this alert message, which is something unusual on my social media, but necessary.

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"My team and I have detected that fake videos generated by artificial intelligence are circulating on some platforms, in which a figure appears that imitates my image and voice.

"In these videos, investment advice or proposals are attributed to me that do not come from me. This is deceptive advertising. Please be careful: I have not made nor do I endorse this type of messages. Thank you all for your attention and support."

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AI deepfake technology is a growing concern for public figures. Deepfakes are videos, pictures or audio clips made with artificial intelligence to look real.

They can be used for fun, or educationally, but also to impersonate celebrities, politicians and world leaders in order to deliberately mislead the public.

Top tips to spot a deepfake commonly include the features, taking a close look at the person's fingers and face. Sometimes these videos do not show the person having the right number or fingers, or their eyes looking different to real videos. Experts claim that their movement is 'cartoonish'.

Tennis, among other sports, have embraced other areas of AI. At Wimbledon, 300 line judges were controversially replaced with AI this year.

The US Open and Australian Open had already scrapped human line judges, with Roland Garros the last remaining Major to decide against the change.

Players are also using AI in training, with technology that tracks and gives feedback concerning technique and body movement.

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