“We Can Create Something Special”- Rafael Nadal Reveals Ambitious Plan For Rafael Nadal Academy In Kuwait

Rafael Nadal has been pursuing an ambitious venture in the past few days. The Mallorcan has taken upon himself the responsibility of establishing a grassroots tennis culture in the Middle East.

He has chosen Kuwait as his destination. Rafa recently announced the opening of The Rafael Nadal Academy in Kuwait in order to nurture young tennis talent providing the best facilities.

He even brought fellow Spanish star David Ferrer on board for an exhibition match to inaugrate the academy. While talking to the media, Rafa revealed his plans for the academy. Let’s see what Rafa had to say.

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What Did Rafael Nadal Say?

The academy will be the first fully-fledged academy Nadal has opened outside his native island of Mallorca. It will have its home at the Sheikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex in Tamdeen Group’s 360 project.

Rafael Nadal revealed that this has been his long term dream-

“We were looking for a place here in the Middle East to open an academy. Honestly we believe we can help the region to grow, in terms of promoting tennis, promoting sport and I think we can help the young talents to develop their potential,” Nadal told The National during his academy’s inauguration.

“So we are super excited and happy and confident because here in Kuwait we found a great group of people, Tamdeen Group, they are super professionals, good-hearted people and we are super happy to be partners with them. We believe that together we can create something special and very positive here in Kuwait.”

Who Is The Training Staff For The Academy?

The head coach of the academy is Portugese former top 100 player in the form of Nuno Marques. Rafa revealed that having good facilities and experienced coaches will be key to player development-

“We sent a couple of great coaches from the Mallorca academy here,” said the 19-time Grand Slam champion.

“It’s important to create the right group of people in terms of coaches, physical trainers … it’s a great group of professionals and human persons, we believe that’s the main thing.

“What we want to achieve is to try to help the kids to grow with the right education, with the right values. Because in sport it’s something great that they can learn a lot of things that can be very positive in life, but at the same time we believe we can help these young talents to become great tennis players.”

“The more people are playing here, the more chances to have a Middle East champion.”

Rafa revealed that his ultimate goal is to give the kids a familial atmosphere in the academy. The moment that is achieved, more and more kids will feel comfortable in the academy.

This noble initiative is one of the many reasons people love Rafa. At this stage of his career, he is doing his best to give back to the sport that gave him so much. It is just a matter of time before we get an Asian champion.

Do you think the Rafael Nadal Academy can create a substantial change?