Iga Swiatek and Rafa Nadal preside over the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar graduation

Manacor, 14 June, 2023. In the company of Rafa Nadal and world number 1 Iga Swiatek, a total of 49 young students and players graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. The ceremony marked the end of their academic studies at the Rafa Nadal International School, the American education centre located on the academy’s campus.

As is now tradition, Rafa Nadal presided over the ceremony and addressed the families, teachers and young students. He also congratulated Novak Djokovic on his recent title in Paris.

“Roland Garros ended three days ago. First of all I would like to congratulate Novak Djokovic on having done something that had never been done before in men’s tennis, reaching 23 Grand Slam titles. It’s a number that seemed impossible not so many years ago and he has done it, so many congratulations from me personally and from the whole Academy for having achieved something so difficult in a sport as competitive as tennis.

“Finally, I would like to hand over to Iga, a 4-time Grand Slam champion and three-time champion at Roland Garros. She is a person who has always set a good example in sport. She has always treated me and the Academy with great affection. So, Iga, thank you very much for coming and thank you for making the effort. It’s a huge pleasure to have you here at the Academy.

“I’d like to congratulate all the students. I know that it’s a happy day, but also a sad one, because I imagine all the life changes are difficult to take on. It takes time. Uncertainty, doubts, which are good, they keep us awake, make us want to improve in every sense. Really, to get to where you are today is because you have worked hard, you’ve believed in yourselves. I think you’ve achieved one of the first goals, which is graduating. Personally, I’m very proud of you. I’m sure all the people that have been at your side throughout this period are too.

“I hope you leave here with all the tools necessary for the future, whatever it may hold. I’m not really one for giving advice, I believe in learning from the daily examples we see. But I will give you one piece of advice; give yourself a chance. This is the reality, don’t get frustrated when things don’t work out first time. Don’t get frustrated when you’ve been trying something for some time and it’s not working. Keep giving yourself a chance. In this case, I can give myself as an example, I’ve had a lot of joy during my career, without a doubt, but I’ve also had a lot of difficult moments in terms of injuries and defeats, and the only thing I’ve done in my life, with the help of my entire team, is to keep giving myself a chance. When you keep giving yourself chances, the time will surely come when you will find the path and the solution to achieving your goals. Don’t give up. Go for it”.

While in previous ceremonies, guests at the graduation have included Pau Gasol, David Ferrer, Ona Carbonell and Ricky Rubio (Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova fulfilled the role remotely during the pandemic), this year the students enjoyed the company of Iga Swiatek. The Polish tennis player, who won her fourth Grand Slam last Saturday and her third French Open title, spoke about the importance of mental health. Also, Swiatek herself asked if she could toss her graduation cap into the air with the students at the end of the ceremony because she completed her studies two years ago but was unable to enjoy an on-site graduation ceremony because of COVID.

What is the Rafa Nadal School?

The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar is also home to the Rafa Nadal School, a mixed Anglo-American international education centre for children from 3 to 18 years of age. While the original concept of the school was designed with the goal of enabling the players at the Academy to be able to combine their tennis and academic educations, Rafa always wanted to open its doors to the children of Mallorca, whether or not they played tennis, so that everyone could benefit from the facilities and the academic programme. This means the players at the RNA share the classrooms with other students, which encourages rewarding exchanges and educational and cultural experiences. The modern, comfortable, technological and sports facilities at the Rafa Nadal School provide the ideal environment for learning

One of the Rafa Nadal School's biggest goals is to offer its students the opportunity to access a university in the United States or any other part of the world, with a tennis and/or academic scholarship. To date, 100% of the tennis-playing students who graduated and planned to go to the USA to study have been accepted and received scholarships at US universities.