Rafa Nadal opens luxury tennis academy in México

The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movístar started out life in the ATP ace's native town of Manacor, and trains up young talents with the aid of a technical team of coaches led by Rafa's uncle and former trainer, Toni Nadal, using the same techniques as those which catapaulted Rafa to stardom and have kept him there right up to press.

Along with sports coaching, future tennis prodigies are trained to be all-rounders and upstanding members of the community through their education at the American International School of Mallorca, aiming to instill in them values such as effort, patience, respect, humility, tolerance, integrity, discipline, order and commitment.

Students include Spanish Junior Champion in singles and doubls, Rosa Vicens, and ATP world number 79, Jaume Munar.

Now, two years on, another branch of the sports school is about to open on the Costa Mujeres area of eastern México, just north of the holiday hotspot of Cancún.

Forming part of the complexes of the TRS Coral Hotel and TRS Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa, the new Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre will be ready to take in pupils by November, both holidaymakers and year-round residents.

Using the same techniques as the Manacor branch, the Costa Mujeres academy is ideal for tourists to hone their skills or learn from scratch as a complementary activity, or even to take a 'tennis holiday' in the Caribbean sun where the main focus is their game.

Chief executive officer of Palladium Hotel Group Abel Matutes Prats says the alliance between Rafa Nadal Academy by Movístar is something the company is 'very proud' of, and will allow the group to offer first-class sports facilities which 'fit perfectly' with the firm's 'vision' – that of élite quality and a healthy lifestyle.

Courses tailored for local residents of different ages include short, intensive series of classes, one-off private lessons, week-long tennis schools, three-day tennis camps and a number of other structures designed to suit any potential student's lifestyle and preferences.

Top-of-the-range facilities at the academy include eight tennis courts, a seven-a-side football pitch, a pádel-tennis court, a sports shop, a racquet re-stringing service, a café-bar, and the Rafa Nadal Museum Xperience which showcases some of the player's star moments in his career, along with interactive games, simulators and virtual reality platforms for various sports.

Photograph by the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movístar on Instagram (@rafanadalacademy) shows Rafael Nadal on the left