Nadal & Ferrer Inaugurate The Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait

The Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait is now a reality. The facilities were inaugurated on Wednesday with an exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and former World No. 3 David Ferrer. More than 1,500 people watched as Nadal beat Ferrer 6-4, 6-3.

As Nadal maintained during his two-day stay in the country, the second Rafa Nadal Academy’s goal is to become a leading tennis centre in the Middle East and to support the Kuwait Tennis Federation in the development of a programme that drives the sport with a formative project led by ex-player and the Academy’s head coach Nuno Márquez and by the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar team of coaches in Kuwait.

“Although we opened two Rafa Nadal Tennis Centres in Mexico and Greece last year, this is the first academy we have opened outside of Manacor. It is a project that I am excited about and truly motivated by, as this is a region of the world that has potential for us to help grow the culture of tennis. We believe that from the academy we can help not only young talent here in Kuwait, but in the whole of the Middle East,” Nadal said.

“We have a great coaching team, the facilities are spectacular and we are working with Tamdeen, who have exceptional staff. Like in Mallorca, we’ll try to promote respect, determination and perseverance in the students. Although I would love great champions to come from here, the principal and most important thing is that they grow with strong values that help them in sport, but also in the future and in the development of their personal and professional life,” Nadal added.

^{Photo Credit: Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait}
For the last 48 hours, Rafa has had the opportunity to visit the academy’s facilities, which include eight indoor courts, eight outdoor courts, the 1,500-seat open-air stadium in which he played Ferrer, and a covered multi-use pavilion with the capacity to house 5,000 spectators.

The World No. 2’s first coaching project came in 2016 with the inauguration of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, his native city. International expansion came in 2019 with the creation of the “Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre” complexes at the Hotel Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres (Mexico) and the Sani Resort (Greece).