World No.1 Rafael Nadal is set to expand his Spanish-based tennis academy abroad for the first time after revealing plans for a new venue in Mexico.
The Rafael Nadal Tennis academy is based in Nadal’s birthplace of Manacor. The state of the art venue features 25 tennis courts, a fitness centre and two swimming pools. Nadal, his uncle Tony, former world No.10 Carlos Costa and 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya are all on the board of directors.
Celebrating the second birthday of the academy this week, it has been confirmed that the Mexican city of Cancun will host the second Nadal academy in the world. The exact location of the venue is Costa Mujeres, which is to the north of Cancun. It will be part of the facilities for two new hotels that will be opened to the public next week. They are the TRS Coral Hotel and Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa.
“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.” Nadal said in a statement.
“The first expansion is going to be in Mexico in Costa Mujeres and for us it is a great motivation and a great opportunity.” He later added.
The new facility will feature eight clay tennis courts, a 7-a-side football pitch, a Padel court, a sports shop, a stringing service and a bar-café. There will also be a Rafael Nadal museum featuring exhibits from the career of the 11-time French Open champion. A variety of training programmes aimed at both children and adults will be on offer.
Supporting the expansion abroad will be the Palladium Hotel Group, who has a deal with the Nadal academy. Palladium currently employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. The company has numerous hotels located across central and southern America as well as Spain.
“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.” Company CEO Abel Matutes Prats said.
The new venue will be officially opened next month. It is unknown if Nadal will be present at the opening ceremony. The Spaniard is currently absent from the tour due to a knee injury, but is schedule to return to action at next week’s Paris Masters.
