Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal Paintball Self-Portraits [Video]

In a cool promo for the upcoming year-end ATP London Finals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal showed why their artistic talents are not just confined to a tennis court.

The two tennis superstars created (or painted) their own self-portraits by hitting paint-covered tennis balls against large art canvases while at Cincinnati this summer.

I think just about every tennis-playing kid has gotten into trouble at some time for hitting dirty, mark-leaving tennis balls against a wall! I know I left a lot of marks against my garage door growing up. Unfortunately they weren’t artsy!

Said Federer, “It was great fun being invited to create my self portrait and I’m excited to see how the finished piece looks. Raising money for charity is always a great thing so already I would like to thank people who will buy these pictures and it’s going to be for a good cause. I’m happy I can help a bit.”

Added Nadal, “Making the artwork was fun and something I’ve never done before. It’s a great way to celebrate the World Tour Finals coming back to London. It was a little bit of a challenge to put the balls on the silhouette! Of course this is the least we can do for charity and for those who need it the most. It’s very important that people in our position help those who really need help. I’d like to thank everyone for the support they give us.”

Visit the London finals website for downloadable desktop images and more.

Each of the remaining six players to qualify for the finals will “paintball” their own portraits. The final paintings will then be auctioned off for charity.

Here’s the video of how they did it: