Rafa Nadal Returns to Court for Academy's 10th Anniversary

The court in Manacor is about to feel familiar footsteps again.

On Saturday, 3 October, the Rafa Nadal Academy will launch its 10th Anniversary celebrations with an afternoon built around one man and one emotion: Rafa Nadal, back with a racquet in his hand and a crowd in the stands.

From 5:00 pm, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will play a series of exhibition matches in the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam, sharing the court with some of the biggest names in the sport. The list of participants is still under wraps, but the premise is clear: rivals, friends, and the figures who have shaped his journey will join him for a one-off celebration of a career and a project that have grown side by side.

This will not be just another exhibition. It will be Nadal’s first appearance in front of spectators since he retired from professional tennis in November 2024 at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The setting could hardly be more intimate or symbolic: his own academy, his own centre court, in his hometown.

Tickets will be limited, restricted by the capacity of the Academy’s Centre Court, and details on how to get them will be released in the coming days. Demand will be fierce. For many, this is likely to be one of the last chances to see Nadal competing, even in exhibition format, on a court that has become an extension of his legacy.

A Decade of a Different Kind of Project

The Rafa Nadal Academy Slam will not only mark his on-court return; it will officially open the celebrations of the academy’s 10th Anniversary. Founded in Manacor in 2016, the Academy has grown into a global reference point, built on the methodology, experience and values that defined Nadal’s career: hard work, respect, and relentless self-improvement.

From the start, the project has been about more than forehands and trophies. Young players from around the world train there with the explicit goal of combining elite sport with education and personal growth. Success is measured not just in ranking points but in how players carry themselves once they leave the court.

The sporting results, though, speak loudly. Players from the Academy have collected 14 Junior Grand Slam titles — seven in singles and seven in doubles — and five have climbed to Junior World No. 1. Just three weeks ago, seven Academy players were simultaneously ranked inside the Top 100 of the ATP and WTA Rankings, a remarkable snapshot of its competitive impact.

Among that wave of talent stands Alex Eala, one of the most eye-catching emerging names in the game. Her rise is already resonating on the international stage, a clear example of how the Manacor model can travel far beyond Mallorca.

From Manacor to the World

What began as a single base in Nadal’s hometown now stretches across continents. The Academy’s DNA has expanded well beyond its original home, with eight centres established worldwide: Manacor, Costa Mujeres, Greece, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Marbella, Egypt and Punta Cana.

Each site carries the same philosophy: a blend of high-performance tennis, academic support and character-building. The courts may change, the climates may differ, but the core message remains the same — excellence is a habit, not a moment.

For this anniversary, though, everything returns to where it started.

Movistar Plus will broadcast the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam live, offering extensive coverage to ensure fans who cannot make it to Manacor still witness Nadal’s return to the court. Cameras will capture not just the tennis, but the atmosphere around a player who has spent his life turning big stages into personal theatres.

A decade on from the academy’s founding, Nadal will walk back onto his own centre court, in front of his own crowd, surrounded by players shaped by his example. It will be a celebration of what he has already done — and a reminder that his influence, now channelled through the next generation, is only just beginning to play out.