The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar celebrates its second anniversary with the opening of the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Mexico

To mark the second anniversary of its official inauguration, the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar has announced its consolidation, growth and future plans. Rafa Nadal made sure he was present at an event he spoke very positively about.

“There is still a lot to do and work on but we are very happy with how things have gone in these last two years. We have managed to form a good team, we never stop working, and this is our mentality. Looking for things that make us be better, or at least this has been my daily goal in my tennis life and in the academy, we try doing it as well”, Rafa said.

After opening its doors in 2016, the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar has already become one of the world's leading sports centres. Located in Manacor, Rafa Nadal's home town, the Academy boasts state-of-the-art facilities and an infrastructure in keeping with modern life. The Academy's prestige is built on a detailed methodology designed by the coaching team that has taken Rafa Nadal to the pinnacle of the professional tour. Led by Toni Nadal himself, the team of coaches at the Academy seeks to maximize the players' strengths in order to get the best out of each of them.

The Academy players were represented at the event by Rosa Vicens, Spanish junior champion in singles and doubles, and Jaume Munar, who spoke via video link about a magical year at the Academy Academia in which he has climbed to number 79 in the ATP world ranking. The coaching staff were represented by Joel Figueras, Marc Górriz and Carlos Moyá. The importance of education and values was also emphasised at the event. In this regard, Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar combines high-performance sports coaching with education in the classrooms of the American International School of Mallorca in order to develop not only good tennis players, but also great individuals who benefit society. The comprehensive human training is based on values such as hard work, humility, tolerance, patience, integrity, discipline and compromise.

The event to celebrate the second anniversary was also used to officially announce that the first Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre will open its doors in November in Costa Mujeres, north of Cancun (Mexico) and will form part of the facilities of two hotels; the TRS Coral Hotel and Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa, which the chain will open to the public next week.

“One of the objectives we have always had is the expansion of the Academy. It also fills us with satisfaction to be able to announce the first expansion outside of Manacor. Which we always knew had to be the starting point, because it is where I live and sentimentally we knew we had to build the Academy here. This does not stop us from growing and expanding throughout the world. Having said that the first expansion is going to be in Mexico in Costa Mujeres and for us it is a great motivation and a great opportunity”, Rafa explained.

With the inauguration of the Costa Mujeres Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre,the concept of the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar is moving overseas for the first time, and it does so in the company of one of the leading Spanish hotel chains, the Palladium Hotel Group. The Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre constitutes a new line of sports centres inspired by the coaching methodology used at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Manacor. The privileged natural environment of Costa Mujeres brings great added value to those travellers and tennis fans who are looking to take holidays in paradise while also improving their technique, enjoying an innovative and luxurious resort with facilities and features designed to help them disconnect from daily life and discovering a little-explored tourist destination in Mexico.

At the event, Abel Matutes Prats, CEO of the Palladium Hotel Group, highlighted the importance of the project: “The alliance with the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar is a source of great pride for the Palladium Hotel Group, as it allows us to offer both visitors and residents of the area first-class sports facilities, which fit perfectly with the values that run through all of our products, such as high quality and healthy living”.

In addition, it provides a unique opportunity for locals, as the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre will offer a wide-ranging catalogue of coaching and training programmes, including options suitable for adults, teenagers and children, with various durations and everything from private classes to a one-week camp, as well as a three-day tennis workshop, among many other options.

The Costa Mujeres Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre has state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to guarantee the best training for all professional and amateur tennis players. The centre, which is currently putting the finishing touches on its construction, boasts 8 clay tennis courts, a 7-a-side football pitch, a padel court, a sports shop, a stringing service and a bar-café. It will also have an extension of the Rafa Nadal Museum Xperience, which includes exhibits on some of the best moments of his sporting career, as well as several simulators, interactive games and virtual-reality platforms for various sports.

The announcement of this opening is the perfect way to cap off the celebration of the second anniversary of a Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar that continues to grow.