TENNIS great Rafael Nadal shared his talent and passion to the Filipino kids through the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar Tennis clinic on Sunday at the Colegio de San Agustin Tennis Courts in Makati City.
Nadal, known in the tennis circle as the King of Clay, along with his uncle and Coach Toni Nadal, staged the first-ever tennis clinic by Movistar, backed by Topspin Ace PH together with Globe Telecom, in the Philippines .
Winner of 14 Grand Slam singles titles in Association of Tennis Players (ATP) World Tour Masters 1000, Nadal wanted to share his love for tennis to the kids all around the world.
“I wanted to be better and I just wanted to improve my level of tennis year-by-year, day-by-day, that is my motivation,” Nadal said. “It’s good that seeing great players in front of you sometimes helps you to see how much you’ve improved.”
“It’s special to be here in the Philippines for the first time. I’m just very excited to be playing here in the Philippines and to have this clinic with the kids to promote our academy in Mallorca,” he added.
Nadal’s mentor trained kids who are 16 years old and below to raise awareness and drive participation to tennis throughout the country. He shared to the participants various techniques and methods based on Nadal’s own training.
“It’s the first time that we arrived in Philippines and we will try to show the tennis academy of Nadal that hopes the young players will enjoy,” the elder Nadalsaid. “The kids played very well but they need more training in order to play in high-level competitions.”
The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, which opens in May 2016 in the home town of Nadal in Mallorca, Spain, is inspired by the achievements of the King of Clay in tennis.
One of the main objectives of the academy is to maximize the potential of every player so that they have the opportunity to become professional players without the need to abandon proper studies.
Nadal, who currently ranks fifth in ATP Circuit, knows that tennis is still on the rise in the Philippines and he hopes that his tour in the country would inspire the aspiring Filipino tennis players.
“We hope to help them improve as a tennis player, our help is what these kids need to become a better tennis player,” Nadal said. “Sometimes life is not fair for everybody but for those fortunate, helping is important. I’m doing that in my foundation because helping for me is very important.”
The all-time record holder of ATP with 27 titles will play for Micromax Indian Aces in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) Manila Leg 2015, which started on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.