Maribel Nadal: “With the Annual Padel Program, we are taking another step towards making the Rafa Nadal Academy a global benchmark in padel”

29.06.2026

RNA Editorial.

The Rafa Nadal Academy has taken another major step in its commitment to padel with the launch of the Annual Padel Program, an innovative year-round program designed for young players that combines high-performance training, an international academic education and a values-based approach inspired by the principles that have defined Rafa Nadal throughout his career.

For Maribel Nadal, Deputy General Manager of the Rafa Nadal Academy, this project represents the natural evolution of a model that has established the Academy as one of the world’s leading institutions for the holistic development of young athletes over the past decade.

“We are delighted to launch the Annual Padel Program. It is a program that combines high-performance training with an international academic education and is designed for boys and girls who want to enjoy a truly comprehensive development experience. We combine padel with physical preparation, nutrition, sports psychology and competition, and I believe we have the facilities to provide an outstanding environment for these young athletes. In addition, we can build on the experience we have gained over the past ten years through our Annual Tennis Programs.”

Inspired by the success of the Annual Tennis Program, the new initiative brings the Rafa Nadal Academy’s proven training methodology to the world of padel. Students will combine their sporting development with an outstanding academic education at the Rafa Nadal School, within an international environment that integrates technical and tactical training, personalized physical preparation, sports psychology, nutrition, video analysis, competition planning and individual performance monitoring.

One of the program’s key pillars will be the methodology developed by Rodri Ovide, one of the world’s most respected padel coaches and the driving force behind the development of players such as Gemma Triay, Juan Lebrón, Paquito Navarro, Martín Di Nenno and Alejandra Salazar.

Maribel Nadal believes Ovide’s arrival has been instrumental in adapting the Academy’s training philosophy to padel:

“Everything has been developed alongside Rodri Ovide. We have both a methodology and a coach who is highly respected throughout the world of padel, from grassroots level to the professional game. He has done an outstanding job training all of our coaches, and today we have a very strong team that is eager to pass on all this knowledge to the next generation of players.”

The Rafa Nadal Academy offers a unique environment for student-athletes. The campus features 19 state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor padel courts, a high-performance fitness centre, specialized medical services, physiotherapy, sports nutrition, performance psychology, an international residence and the opportunity to study at the Rafa Nadal School, which follows the accredited American curriculum.

Beyond sporting performance, the Annual Padel Program has been created with the ambition of developing not only better players, but also better people. The program is built around the same values that have always defined Rafa Nadal’s career: hard work, humility, respect, resilience and continuous improvement.

Maribel Nadal is convinced of the program’s potential and the impact it will have on future generations of players: “I hope many boys and girls from all over the world will come and enjoy the Academy, because in the end, we are one big family.”