By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 28, 2025
Photo credit: Rafa Nadal Academy
Rafa Nadal has taken his training methodology to Asia.
The King of Clay and his sister, Maribel Nadal, recently visited the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center in Hong Kong, a complex that was inaugurated in 2022 and forms part of the international network of centers run by the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.
Located on the grounds of the prestigious Hong Kong Golf & Tennis Academy (HKGTA), the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center was created from an alliance between the two entities that seeks to offer world-class tennis training to players of all ages and levels. The programs run at the center are developed following the training methodology created by the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca and implemented by coaches who trained in Manacor.
During his visit, the King of Clay toured the facility and inspected the 7 fast courts (6 outdoor, 1 indoor), the clay court, the two indoor mini-tennis courts, the store and the gym. He also visited an area dedicated to his career, which includes an exhibition with replicas of every Grand Slam trophy he won as well as videos and photos of his professional career.
Photo credits: Rafa Nadal Academy
Former world No. 1 Nadal, who has visited Rafa Nadal Tennis Centers in Kuwait, Mexico and Greece, saw for himself the daily work taking place at the Hong Kong center, talking to the coaches and taking an interest in the children and adults who train at the facility every day.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion was accompanied by sister Maribel Nadal, Assistant Director General of the Rafa Nadal Academy, and Tomeu Salvá, the academy’s technical director. To cap off the day, Rafa chatted with the young players, answering their questions and encouraging them to have fun, to work hard and to fight for their goals.
The sporting seed planted in Manacor, Rafa’s home town, has now grown and spread to multiple locations: the Rafa Nadal Academy Kuwait has been implementing the training method in the heart of the Middle East since 2020, while the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centers in Mexico, Greece, Marbella, Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic, along with the Rafa Nadal Tennis Program in Egypt, form an international network that instills Nadal’s values, training methodology and philosophy in thousands of tennis players around the world.
