The Rafa Nadal Academy: a project in full international expansion

From Spain to Brazil, the Rafa Nadal Academy charts its course toward new horizons. After Asia and North America, the Spanish legend now tackles South America with a colossal project in Porto Belo.

© AFP

Adrien Guyot

le 16/12/2025 à 20h58

2 min to read

Nadal Rafael

Two facilities of the Rafa Nadal Academy have been inaugurated in Asia. In February 2020, it opened in Kuwait. In July 2022, an additional complex was launched in Hong Kong. To continue increasing its worldwide recognition, Cairo, the capital of Egypt, also opened a center in September 2024.

North America is also involved, with centers in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. The latter, in fact, opened its doors quickly, as early as 2018. It is the first Rafa Nadal Academy complex inaugurated outside of Spain.

The expansion project of the Rafa Nadal Academy

Each center has its own particularity. In Mexico, there are only clay courts, as well as a padel court and a soccer field. In Kuwait, there are ochre courts but also hard courts, a gym, and a spa. Finally, the complex is smaller in Cairo, with only two outdoor hard courts available.

Regardless, all Rafa Nadal Academy facilities have one thing in common. Thus, adults and children can choose from individual, family, or group tennis programs. That's not all, because a new continent will soon be part of the Iberian legend's project.

A complex in South America to be inaugurated in 2028

Indeed, at the end of November 2025, the academy announced the arrival of a new facility dedicated to training the world's best talents. It will be built in Brazil, specifically in Porto Belo. This will be the first Rafa Nadal Academy complex in South America. The details of this ninth center are already known.

This new Rafa Nadal Academy complex will include seventeen tennis courts (six clay and eleven hard). There will also be eight padel courts, a cafeteria, a shop dedicated to sports equipment, and a gym reserved for players and visitors.

Find the full investigation

Find the full investigation "The Rafa Nadal Academy: a model of expertise and professionalism for future tennis stars," which will be available in its entirety the weekend of December 20 on TennisTemple.