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On Wednesday, February 5, the 19-time Major champion Rafael Nadal opened his second Academy after the one in his native Manacor, with Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait standing as the most advanced tennis center in that part of the world!
Back in 2016, Nadal built Rafa Nadal Academy at home in Mallorca, gathering some of the world's most excellent coaches and juniors who train at the top-tier facility. Besides that, Nadal had also launched the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre" in Mexico and Greece, with Kuwait as the next destination where he wants to improve the level of the local tennis and bring more kids into tennis.
Joining forces with property developer Tamdeen Group, Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar produces a brand-new Shaikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex in Kuwait, one of the most significant sports initiative originated with Kuwait Public Authority for Sport.
State of the art complex includes 18 courts, eight outdoor, eight indoor, an open court with 1,500 seats and covered arena with over 5,000 seats that welcomed Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer on Wednesday, with two great friends launching the Academy and presenting it to the world of tennis.
Nadal said it wasn't hard to make this step and organize everything, with a vast help from the local groups who recognized the opportunity and joined him in the quest to make something that was never seen in the region. Working closely with the Kuwait Tennis Federation, their best juniors are already at the Academy, working under the coaches who came from Mallorca and visiting Manacor.
"For me and the Academy in general, the goal was to spread our model and brand to different parts of the world; it gives us satisfaction. This new Academy in Kuwait is the first that we have opened outside of Manacor, also having 'Rafa Nadal Tennis Center' in Mexico and Greece; this time, we had the opportunity to join powerful local groups from Kuwait, such as Tamdeen, who are serious and hardworking people that gave us confidence and motivation to develop this Academy in the way we did.
This region has the potential and we wanted to increase the culture of tennis; with the Academy, we can help not only the young talents from Kuwait but from all over the Middle East. We already have several coaches from the Manacor Academy who have been here for three months, helping local coaches to understand the pattern and the way we work.
The children of the Kuwait Federation are already gathered here in the Academy; some of them had a possibility of coming to Mallorca. It is a process that takes much work, but that inspires us to work even harder."