Rafa Nadal Academy hosts almost 100 young Ukrainian tennis players for two weeks

The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar recently welcomed about a hundred young Ukrainian tennis players through its doors. They collaborated with the ITF and the Ukrainian Tennis Federation to give young players an opportunity to experience the facilities provided by the academy in Manacor.

The young talents will receive physical training and hone their tennis skills under the expert guidance of coaches.

Natalia Mordasova, the Ukrainian coach at the academy who was involved with the project, stated that it is a great opportunity for the players as the situation back in the war-torn country has made training virtually impossible.

"The situation in my country for a year is extremely complicated. If normal life is already difficult, life for tennis players is almost impossible," she said. "In Ukraine it is very difficult to find places to train and for them this moment is unique in their lives."

Toni Nadal, the academy's director of tennis, also spoke about the project that he hopes will help the upcoming players.

"We know the difficult times that the children who are coming to our facilities are going through and that these weeks at the Academy are not going to change their lives, but we are happy to see how excited both they and their families are," he said. "Hopefully, together with the Ukrainian Federation and the ITF, we can continue to do our bit in such a difficult and painful situation."

The project will go on for about two weeks during which the players will stay at the facility in Manacor.

Rafael Nadal signs up for the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters

Rafael Nadal at the 2023 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal could possibly be returning to the court at the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters in April.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been out of action due to a hip injury that he sustained at this year's Australian Open. He recently withdrew from both the Indian Wells and the Miami Open as he was in recovery.

In a media interaction, the tournament director of the Monte Carlo Masters David Massey spoke about the Spaniard registering for the event.

“Rafa was the first [player] to be registered," he said. “He really wants to play at the Monte Carlo Masters and is giving himself every chance to take part in the tournament he’s so fond of.”

The 14-time Roland Garros champion has won the tournament a record eleven times, including a record streak of eight consecutive wins from 2005 to 2012. He overcame Roger Federer thrice in the final between 2006 and 2008 and Novak Djokovic in 2009.

Since the tournament is the beginning of the clay season, it could well be Nadal's preparation and form part of his build-up for this year's French Open.