The Rafa Nadal Academy joins the Hexagon Cup and will have its own team in the innovative padel tournament

The team, which will be called the Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille, will form part of the innovative tournament, which takes place in Madrid from 31 January to 4 February.

 

Madrid, 16 October 2023 – Hexagon Cup, the new padel tournament, whose mission is to transform the ‘20 x 10 sport’, is delighted to announce that the prestigious Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar will be entering its own team in the new padel tournament, which will be played at the Madrid Arena from 31 January to 4 February 2024. The news means the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s academy will become the second of the six teams formed since the announcement of the Hexagon Cup team during the tournament’s official launch last month.

 

“At the Hexagon Cup we’re proud to welcome the Rafa Nadal Academy team. Our mission is to attract the best players in the world, provide the most inclusive platform to support emerging talent and grow the padel fan base around the world, therefore we couldn’t wish for a better team to join us”, said Enrique Buenaventura, founder of the Hexagon Cup.

 

Known for training global tennis stars since its 2016 inauguration in Manacor, the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar has also shown a commitment to padel, with the development of coaching programmes for youngsters and adults at its state-of-the-art facilities, which include 10 outdoor and 7 indoor courts. Its fitness centre, pioneering health and wellness spaces, a wide range of catering options, and modern residencies make the Rafa Nadal Academy one of the best places to play padel. This wide range of services is complemented with leisure and learning spaces such as the Rafa Nadal Museum and the Rafa Nadal School, both located on the campus. All of this makes for the perfect environment to develop talented children and adults who are looking for a unique experience in the perfect place to play sport. The academy has organised numerous padel tournaments, including a World Padel Tour Challenger event.

 

In addition, the Rafa Nadal Academy has announced that Richard Mille will be its main sponsor for this competition, therefore the team’s official name will be the “Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille”.

 

"Padel is a sport we have been committed to since the beginnings of the academy. We have state-of-the-art facilities, a great team of professionals, and programmes suitable for all levels. One of our greatest joys is seeing the positive reviews we get from the professional padel players who visit us. Our participation in the Hexagon Cup reflects our commitment to developing and fostering padel talent and the sport’s global reach”, explained Maribel Nadal, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. "We love the innovative, ambitious, and respectful vision of the Hexagon Cup and we believe that its creation will have a decisive impact on the growth of padel. We are currently talking to some of the biggest names in the sport about them becoming players in the Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille franchise and we will be able to reveal our selected players very soon", concluded Maribel Nadal.

 

A tournament for the stars to take padel to another level

 

Born under the motto “For the Fans. For the Players. For the Game”, the revolutionary Hexagon Cup padel tournament combines male, female and next gen players with the main team owners, who come from different branches of sport and entertainment, in order to compete for the impressive one million euro purse, creating a new team competition and a truly exciting experience for fans.

 

Once the six teams and their franchise players are revealed, there will be a Player Draft at the end of November, where the remaining players in each team will be selected. However, one of the big innovations at the Hexagon Cup is that the fans will be responsible for the final player selection. The Rafa Nadal Academy Team powered by Richard Mille will announce its two franchise players in the coming weeks.

 

In the tournament itself, the six teams will be divided into two qualification groups. The teams in each group will face a series of head-to-head matches and only the two best teams from each group will progress to the final stage, where the champion of the inaugural Hexagon Cup will be crowned. The tournament boasts a purse of 1 million euros.

 

In its first year, the Hexagon Cup will take place in the historic Madrid Arena, the perfect stage for creating a spectacular show. It will include an attractive fan village with player autograph sessions and training courts, live concerts and training, stores, an exhibition zone, food trucks and contemporary gastronomy, as well as world-class VIP hospitality options. All of this is aimed at creating a truly memorable experience for sports and entertainment fans.

 

Sobre Hexagon Cup

 

Born under the motto “For the Fans. For the Players. For the Game”, this revolutionary competition was born with the purpose of offering a new and disruptive approach as well as being committed to transforming the sport of padel. To do this, it has designed a completely new format in which six teams, each made up of three pairs (a male pair, a female pair, and a stars of the future pairing) will compete for victory