The Rafa Nadal Academy is a reference point across the world, says Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal started the Rafa Nadal Academy in his hometown of Mallorca, Spain with the express motive of making it a top-notch development centre for young and up-and-coming athletes. And he seems to have succeeded in that.

In recent times, the level of praise the academy has received from experts, coaches and players has been unprecedented. The Rafa Nadal academy is quickly emerging as one of the most popular training and development centres in the world.

Recently, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the academy went through an elaborate expansion and renovation plan. After the revamp, Rafael Nadal's academy now has nine outdoor fast courts, 15 outdoor clay courts (seven of these will be built in 2021), four covered fast courts, seven clay courts (half covered), one soccer field, seven outdoor paddle courts, six covered paddle courts, one Padbol field (a fusion of soccer-tennis and padel), two squash courts, one semi-Olympic swimming pool, one outdoor swimming pool open, a fitness center and a spa.

Rafael Nadal upbeat about Academy expansion

Rafael Nadal with young players chosen for his academy.

Speaking after the unveiling of the new facilities, Rafael Nadal elaborated on how important the expansion is for making the Academy the premier institute for young athletes.

"With this expansion we try to get closer to what an international reference sports center needs. The expansion means a lot to the players because in Mallorca there are some days when it rains and sometimes they can't train in the conditions they deserve," said the Spaniard.

"With this expansion of indoor camps I think we are making a very important leap in terms of quality , since the service we will provide to young people and adults will be even better than what we can offer now and will also help us host even more events that could be important for the whole community," Rafael Nadal added.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion then went on to talk about how proud he is of the work, and how satisfying it is to see the international recognition that the academy is receiving.

"I am happy because people from all over the world will be able to take advantage of better facilities and because this will allow us to offer a better service to all fans of Manacor and Mallorca. I think we can now say that we are going to become a reference center all over the world," said Nadal.