The last few weeks have been good to world No. 1 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard just ended the tennis season at the top of the world rankings, his fifth time achieving the honor. He won the Davis Cup. He also just got married to his teenage sweetheart Xisca Perello, who he dated for 14 years. But there is one piece of news that can be described as the cherry on top of his impressive year.
Kuwait to launch Rafael Nadal Academy
It has now been confirmed that he will be attending the inauguration of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Kuwait in February 2020. A project of the country’s top mixed-use property developer Tamdeen Group and the government agency Kuwait Public Authority for Sport, it will be a hub for the training and development of the next generation of tennis players.
According to reports, the sports hub will be one of the facilities in the Shaikh Jaber Al Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah International Tennis Complex, which is one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country. It is said that the Rafael Nadal Academy will have a total of 18 courts and a giant covered stadium that can house as much as 5,000 people.
The Rafael Nadal Academy is the Spanish conglomerate’s first branch in Asia. The organization hopes to foster and develop the emerging popularity of tennis as a sport in the Middle East.
Kick-off of Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait will take place in February, when Rafael Nadal personally inaugurates the Academy. It will feature 18 courts incl. covered arena with more that 5,000 seats. đź“·Corinne Dubreuil pic.twitter.com/8qFjHdLjHh
— Michal Samulski (@MichalSamulski) November 27, 2019
Nadal’s work with his academy
The Rafael Nadal Academy has seen a massive expansion in the past few months. Apart from its original location in Nadal’s Spanish hometown of Manacor in Mallorca, they have also opened the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Mexico and Greece.
The tennis academy’s branch in Mexico is within the complex of the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa and the TRS Coral Hotel. It is just a few minutes away from the Mexican resort city of Cancun. Meanwhile, the Greek branch is in the emerging tourist destination town of Halkidiki, which is near Thessaloniki.
Both of the locations were specially chosen for their proximity to a few of the most popular holiday destinations. The two venues also adopted the rigorous training system Nadal and his trainers developed in the original Mallorca academy.
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Nadal’s 2019 performance
Apart from the major growth of his global brand, Spain’s Raging Bull was also unstoppable in the tennis court. He won his 18th and 19th Grand Slam wins this year after his victories in the French Open and the U.S. Open. This means he is just one win away from tying Roger Federer’s male tennis record.
Nadal also helped Spain earn its latest Davis Cup finals title. This gave Spain its sixth Davis Cup championship.
Nadal in London, ranking, and results in 2019
Now the world no.1, the Spaniard has a 52-7 win-loss record in 2019. Rafael is now having a run in London where he toppled Daniil Medvedev 6-73 6-3 7-64 and Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-74 6-4 7-5.
Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
