Sawt Falasteen - Inside the Rafa Nadal Academy, a tennis talent hotbed

"It came from Rafael and his father's idea of staying involved in the sport when Rafael's career was over," Toni Nadal, his uncle and former coach tells AFP at the academy in the 22-time Grand Slam winner's hometown, Manacor.

"He's lasted much longer than we thought," adds Toni Nadal, with a smile.

He is the academy's tennis director, speaking to AFP while overseeing some of the sport's most promising youngsters running drills.

Spanish great Nadal, 37, is taking a break from tennis to try and recover from his injury problems but keeps a keen eye on his academy.

He is often seen there, like on June 14 when he presided over the graduation ceremony for 49 students and players, alongside women's world number one Iga Swiatek.

Nadal also chose it as the location of his May announcement that he was stepping away from the game ahead of his planned comeback and retirement in 2024.

"This would be my goal -- stopping, to try and face probably the last year of my sporting career with at least the guarantees of being able to enjoy it," Nadal said at the time.

- Face time -

The academy's courts are where one of the greatest players of all time will prepare for his comeback, along with the students, who can sometimes enjoy rallies with the 14-time French Open champion.

"He talks to the coaches on a regular basis, he explains his vision to them, he trains here all the time and trains with the kids, he gives them his way of doing things and his advice," says Toni Nadal.

"I've been lucky enough to play with him several times," recalls 20-year-old Daniel Rincon, the 2021 US Open junior winner, on a terrace at the training centre.

"He helps us a lot, in the breaks or during the exercises he tries to help us.

"He wants us all to improve and he gives us his grain of sand, and for us it is very important that Rafa Nadal is telling you something," adds Rincon, a tall and shy young man, who also studied for a while at the academy while he was training.

Norway's two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud, fourth in the world rankings, trained at the academy aged 19, while he was ranked 143rd and looking to break into the elite.

However it is not just tennis that the academy's athletes live for.

Besides the 40-strong indoor and outdoor clay and hard courts, there is also an international school where they can study and prepare for university.

Members of the academy also enjoy other facilities such as swimming pools, padel courts and even a small seven-a-side football pitch, with the aim of not only forming tennis players but also "producing the best people possible", says French coach Jeremy Paisan.

- Perseverance -

Responsible for junior players aged between 14 and 18, Paisan notes: "The most important thing is the values we transmit."

Motivational quotes from Nadal are displayed around the academy.

"During my career I learned to suffer," reads one, "I always work with a goal in mind and the goal is to improve as a player and as a person," another.

There is also a museum that highlights Nadal's achievements.

Toni Nadal recalls that his nephew's success is due above all to his perseverance and hard work, something he tries to make his pupils at the academy remember, ensuring those who dream of becoming a tennis number one keep their feet on the ground.

"I consider myself a good coach, but I don't know how to become a champion -- what I pass on to the youngsters is 'Don't trust the coach, trust yourselves'.

"'The one who works the hardest is the one who has the best chance of success, so I'm going to work harder than the rest.'"

Despite Nadal's stellar career, the academy measures achievement in a different way.

"Success is not having a Casper Ruud or Felix (Auger-Aliassime), success is that everyone gives their best version of themselves," adds Toni Nadal.

"Success is that every kid who comes here makes the most of their time and when they leave, whether they have been successful or not, they feel they have not wasted their time."

X.Habash--SF-PST