Nadal News 3.0

Rafa's Birthday
June 3, 2025

From Roland-Garros:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1929817117022625903

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,,,
 
JustMy2Cents said:
GOLF
A walk around THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at @TPCSawgrass with tennis legend
https://twitter.com/x/status/1929937247458959749
Click to expand...

Rafa thanked (on Twitter) THE PLAYERS golf tournament organisers and PGA Tour (prof. golf) for hosting him at the TPC Sawgrass club. He also posted a few pictures on Instagram. The TPC Sawgrass club is located on Ponte Vedra Beach, in the Jacksonville metropolitan area, Florida, in the United States.

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Via Rafa IG

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McEnroe in rafa shirt
https://twitter.com/x/status/1930294305739968542
Rafa interview coming up
Rafa did a 45 minutes interview while in Orlando that should be available soon
Rafa was in Orlando, FL last week for Infosys Connect 2025 (May 28/29) and subsequently went to Sawgrass where he spent at least 3 days on the golf course over the weekend
https://twitter.com/x/status/1930358610607124968

Agassi tells how Rafa vamosed opening his stuck locker in an empty locker room
https://t.co/DfjhvVtp94
https://twitter.com/x/status/1930321216000188835
 
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Rafa Nadal ticks off another legendary course in the United States​

Ten Golf
Sunday, 1 June 2025 23:05
nadalgolfpodcastapunta.webp

Rafa Nadal continues to tick iconic golf courses off his personal list. Once retired from professional tennis, and shortly after receiving a beautiful tribute at Roland Garros, the legend from Manacor took advantage of a visit he had to make to the United States to play at the Stadium Course of TPC Sawgrass, home of the THE PLAYERS Championship.

Specifically, it was this past weekend. Nadal played three consecutive days on the legendary course where Rory McIlroy was crowned this year and where Sergio García won back in 2008. He made the most of it. He was invited by the PGA Tour. As you know, the American circuit has its headquarters there. In fact, they took advantage of his presence to conduct an interview that will be released in the coming days.

Nadal was already in Augusta a few days ago and now it was Sawgrass’s turn, true cathedrals of American and world golf. Since leaving active tennis, Rafa has been able to dedicate more time to his other great sporting passion. Whenever he can and his schedule allows, he tries to play a round of golf. Naturally, his handicap appreciates this dedication. Right now, it is at 0.1, according to the official website of the Spanish Federation.

It should be noted that Nadal has also committed to playing in the Pau Gasol Foundation tournament, which will take place from 19 to 22 June at La Hacienda Links and will be dedicated to raising funds for a great charitable cause: fighting childhood obesity. Similarly, this week we learned that he will also participate in the Battle of Stars tournament in Mallorca.

Someday we will find out how Nadal fared these days on the legendary par 3 of the 17th hole at Sawgrass. Will he have been able to hit the green every day? Will he have even made a birdie or two? It will be interesting.
ten-golf.com

Rafa Nadal ticks off another legendary course in the United States

Rafa Nadal continues to tick iconic golf courses off his personal list. Once retired from professional tennis, and shortly after receiving a beautiful tribute at Roland Garros, the legend from Manacor took advantage of a visit he had to make to the United States to play at the Stadium Course of...
ten-golf.com ten-golf.com
 
Rafa & Sponsor – Infosys

@JustMy2Cents wrote above that Rafa attended Infosys Connect 2025 in Orlando, Florida, the USA, last week. I add excerpts from an Infosys vice president’s comment posted on Linkedin:

¤¤ Had an incredible experience at Infosys CONNECT 2025, the Annual Conference of Global Markets Leaders, Management from service lines, business enabling functions and Infosys Executive Leadership. Hosted at the stunning The Ritz-Carlton Orlando & JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes resort from May 27th to May 30th, 2025, the event was filled with energy, enthusiasm, fun, learning, and valuable connections.

The conference featured inspiring speeches from renowned individuals like /…/, Rafael Nadal and others. … Rafael Nadal, the iconic tennis player and Infosys Brand Ambassador, shared insights into his authentic, humble approach that has propelled him to greatness in the world of men's tennis before his recent retirement. …¤¤ [Rafa was interviwed in front of 2000 people.]

Rafa became Infosys’s brand ambassador after signing a three-year sponsorship agreement in August 2023.

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Rafa lives an interesting life after retiring from tennis.

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Alcaraz on taking a photo of Rafa Nadal’s footprint before his match against Musetti at Roland Garros, ‘Having a little bit of Rafa Nadal on Philippe Chatrier while I’m playing is a great inspiration’
Carlos: “I think it was the first time I could warm up before the match here on Chatrier. So I tried to make the most of the time. Took a bit of time to take a picture of that. Having a little bit of Rafa Nadal on Philippe Chatrier while I’m playing is a great inspiration. I try not to think about it too much in the match. But in difficult matches, I think about the effort and the level of Rafa, how he’s fighting all the time. He never gives up. I try to think about it and try to do it myself. All I could do is take a memory of that plaque from Rafa Nadal.”
https://twitter.com/x/status/1931010830742770102

https://twitter.com/x/status/1930936898706370782
I have extracted a very nice article from a paywall... see below:giggle:

another vg article here
 
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Rafael Nadal’s first French Open title, by Toni Nadal, his opponents, and Rafa himself​

Charlie Eccleshare
4
June 6, 2025Updated 2:19 pm UTC
ROLAND GARROS, PARIS — Twenty years ago this weekend, a 19-year-old Spanish tennis player named Rafael Nadal won the French Open for the first time, at the first attempt.
By the time his career ended almost two decades later, Nadal had amassed 14 French Open titles, posting a Roland Garros record of 112 wins and four defeats. The tournament organisers built a statue of him before he had finished winning titles there. And at the start of this year’s French Open, 15,000 people gathered on Court Philippe-Chatrier to celebrate one of the greatest achievements in sport.
But in June 2005, Nadal was a richly talented teenager, with the promise of a successful career but not yet an all-time stint that would help define men’s tennis in the 2000s.
This is the story of how, across two weeks, Nadal went from hopeful to champion, setting in motion his unprecedented dominance.
Told by those who saw it first-hand:
  • Rafael Nadal, No. 4 seed competing at his first French Open, and eventual 14-time champion
  • Lars Burgsmüller, Nadal’s first-round opponent
  • Richard Gasquet, Nadal’s third-round opponent
  • Sebastien Grosjean, Nadal’s fourth-round opponent
  • Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach
  • Carlos Moya, Nadal’s close friend, future coach and former world No. 1 and French Open Champion
  • Mats Wilander, Nadal’s hitting partner the day before the final and seven-time Grand Slam champion
  • Benito Perez-Barbadillo, ATP communications director and from 2006, Nadal’s publicist
  • Mary Carillo, commentator on the final for NBC and former French Open mixed-doubles champion
  • Christopher Clarey, covered the tournament for the New York Times and author of The Warrior: Rafael Nadal and His Kingdom of Clay
All via interviews, except for news conferences from Nadal and Gasquet, and a voice note from Carillo.
Although Nadal had never competed at the French Open, having been injured the two previous editions, he was a pre-tournament favorite as a debutant.
As would become familiar, he had cut a swathe through the clay-court season, winning titles in Barcelona, Monte Carlo and Rome in the build-up. During the Monte Carlo Masters, the previous year’s Roland Garros runner-up and clay specialist Guillermo Coria said: “Nadal is the best player on this surface in the world.”
Roger Federer, the world No. 1, who had won four of the previous seven Grand Slams, was expected to lift the trophy, but Nadal, ranked No. 5, wasn’t far behind.
Rafael Nadal: It was the first tournament I approached with the feeling that something special could happen. It was the first Slam where I was one of the candidates.
So I was nervous, 100 percent. But at the same time, when you are 18, you have plenty of energy, and in some way, you are less worried about everything. You have this fresh mentality about not thinking much about the negative things that can happen.
Toni Nadal: When we got to Roland Garros, after Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome, I thought Rafael was maybe favorite. Him or Federer.
Benito Perez-Barbadillo: I’d known Rafa well for a couple of years, and when he arrived at the French Open, he was in a unique position. I can’t think of anybody else at a major who has arrived in a position where they were playing somewhere for the first time and were basically the favorite. But you just never know until they do it.
He wasn’t scared, though. He’d be in the locker room jumping around, he never stopped moving. When you put him with the media room, he was shy, but in the locker room, he was a different person.
In the first round, Nadal was drawn against Lars Burgsmüller, the world No. 96 from Germany. Wearing three-quarter length shorts and a green singlet, Nadal powered his way to a 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-1 win on his first and last appearance on the old No. 1 Court. In his first point at Roland Garros, some of the future staples take over: the bullet inside-in forehand followed by the nerveless smash.
Burgsmüller is now a radiologist treating cancer patients in Essen, Germany.
Lars Burgsmüller: I knew it wasn’t a good draw. Already, people were saying he could be one of the best in the world. We’d played on a hard court before, but I remember at Roland Garros, his balls were so heavy. And I remember I had to really win a point, not only once, but two or three times.
He’s the best in defense and even when you think you’ve won the point, he is still passing you. My goal was to keep the balls short, but sometimes I was rushing too much. But then I knew if I stayed on the baseline and tried to grind and play long rallies, I’d have even less chance. So I tried to get to the net.
Afterwards, I thought he could do well in the tournament, but I didn’t think that he was going to win the whole thing.
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Rafael Nadal hits a forehand during his first French Open match. (Clive Mason / Getty Images)
I still have the DVD of the match, but I’ve only watched a few minutes. Occasionally, my kids (three boys aged 15, 13 and nine) try to watch it on YouTube, and they are like, “Look, it’s daddy,” and then after five minutes they find something different to watch.
They’re like: “Why are you making so many mistakes?”
In the second round, Nadal eased past Belgium’s Xavier Malisse, a 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist ranked No. 46, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal was feeling comfortable on the Paris clay — his main challenge was fighting a penchant for the city’s chocolate croissants.
His next match looked a lot tougher: Richard Gasquet. The pair had come through the junior ranks together and were seen as the joint “next big things” in the sport. They’d just played an extremely close three-setter in Monte Carlo, won by Nadal, but Gasquet had beaten Federer earlier in that tournament and frequently got the better of Nadal when they were juniors.
Nadal ended up thrashing Gasquet 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in a match that set the pair on hugely divergent paths. Gasquet ended up losing all 18 ATP matches against his one-time rival and while he had a successful career by most standards, he was never a serious contender to win a Grand Slam.
During his Roland Garros farewell ceremony a couple of weeks ago, Nadal said of that Gasquet win: “From that day, I truly understood what Roland Garros meant.”
The match gave a glimpse into another Nadal truism: when it got hot in Paris, making his topspin forehand kick high off the clay, his opponents may as well have not turned up.
Toni Nadal: As soon as we saw the draw, the thing that stood out was that we have to play against Gasquet in the third round. We were a little afraid. The French journalists talked a lot about this match — it was more difficult for Gasquet than for us in the end, they put a lot of pressure on Gasquet.
Gasquet played not too good, the match was too big for him.
Perez-Barbadillo: Beating Richard was crucial because he was one of Rafa’s biggest rivals. As a kid, he always used to lose against Richard, so he was very nervous before that match. But then he handled it very well and he won easily.
Richard Gasquet: I remember it was really hot on the court. I played him a month or so earlier in Monaco, a big match.
Then I played here against him again and he was different, much better than in Monaco. The bounce was really high. It was very tough to play. He was just better.
When I finished the match, I remember my last coach here, I told him he would win Roland Garros this year. I wouldn’t imagine he would win 13 times more, but I knew he was going to win the tournament. He was just playing unbelievable. I was a bit surprised.
Perez-Barbadillo: We’d wanted to do some pictures with Rafa for a booklet for the ATP during the tournament, but he kept saying, “Let’s do it if I beat Gasquet. If I win that match, then we do whatever you want.”
And we did a little breakfast with some media, near the Eiffel Tower, and I remember there’s a picture of him with some croissants and the tower behind him. To do something like that now during a tournament would be very strange.
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Rafael Nadal, the Eiffel Tower, and some croissants. Very strange indeed. (Mehdi Fedouach / AFP via Getty Images)
 
Next up for Nadal was another Frenchman, the skilful No. 23 seed, Sebastien Grosjean, who had been ranked as high as No. 4 and had been a semifinalist at three of the four majors. Their match started on a damp day, and Nadal found himself having to deal with an extremely hostile crowd when the umpire, Damian Steiner, refused to check a mark at the start of the second set.
The match was stopped for 10 minutes as the crowd jeered and whistled, affecting Nadal’s concentration. He gave up a break to lose the second set. Rain then stopped play overnight, with the match level at one set all. The players came back out on a much warmer day and Nadal polished off the victory 6-4, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3. He said in a post-match news conference that: “The crowd did not behave well at all, but this is France and what they did was a silly thing.”
When footage of the incident resurfaced during Indian Wells three years ago, Nadal was asked about it in a news conference and said: “I remember that match and for a moment, it was unplayable.”
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Sebastien Grosjean’s umpire dispute rattled Rafael Nadal during their match, but a rain delay helped him reset. (Bob Martin / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Sebastien Grosjean: The crowd were not against Rafa. They were against the umpire. I was looking at the mark, I wanted him to go down, he didn’t want to go. And then it’s tough to control a crowd when they start screaming. You can try to calm them down, but you’re not going to do it.
Toni Nadal: It was a tough moment, but nothing more than this. And for Rafa to get through it was important. Grosjean knew that, within the rules, the umpire did not need to come down.
Grosjean: The match itself, the first day was easier because of the weather. It was a little bit heavier, so Rafa’s ball didn’t bounce that high. But once we started again the day after, it was a different match. We knew at that time that Rafa was special.
And playing him on that big Chatrier court, he can attack, he can defend because he has so much space to move. He loves the court, he loves the balls and he was forcing you to give 100 percent effort every time. Playing Rafa on clay is the biggest challenge in the sport but the atmosphere on Chatrier was great — it always is with a French player.
If you want to beat him, you have to suffer. To win a point. To win a game. To win a set. It was almost impossible and that’s why over the years, he was winning matches before starting the match. The other guy would be thinking that it’s going to be impossible.
 
A far more routine quarterfinal followed, with Nadal hammering compatriot David Ferrer, the No. 20 seed and a specialist on the surface, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0.
That win set up the semifinal everyone had been hoping for: Federer against Nadal. The pair had met twice before, with Nadal winning in straight sets in Miami the previous year, before Federer got his revenge by beating his rival in five sets at the same tournament 12 months later.
Now they would meet in a Grand Slam for the first time.
Perez-Barbadillo: Before the match, we did another photo shoot. Rafa was with the Spanish flag, and he was eating ice cream, and we did a little shoot for everybody, all the photographers at Roland Garros that day before the semifinals. Crazy. Can you imagine that now?
Cristopher Clarey: I’d interviewed Federer a few days before the tournament at the Hôtel de Crillon. He was feeling very confident and was looking to complete the career Grand Slam. I thought Rafa was a slight favorite based on what we’d seen already and the beast that you could tell he was going to be. Roger was very matter-of-fact about Rafa, and he talked about him as if he were describing some kind of natural phenomenon. He would call him “it” and said things like: “Quite impressive, isn’t it? He’s already bigger than me, and he’s five years younger. Imagine how he looks in five years.”
As well as Nadal was playing, Federer was also cruising — he hadn’t lost a set and had thrashed Nadal’s good friend Moya, a former Roland Garros champion, in the fourth round. He had come to Paris early to get extra practice time on Chatrier, having struggled with its huge dimensions in the past.
The very first point of the match, the opening of arguably the best Grand Slam rivalry in men’s tennis history, was a beauty. Federer tried to put away a forehand, but there was Nadal, on his 19th birthday, running it down and whipping a forehand passing shot down the line for a winner. They split the first two sets, but in the fading light, with Federer wanting the match to stop, Nadal toughed out a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win.
Clarey: It was a tighter match than people remember. Roger had his chances. The pattern that became the bugaboo for Roger was clear. There was that breakdown on the third or fourth backhand above the shoulder. Not the first, usually. A lot of extended points as well. I just think the matchup was a bad one for Roger. Worse on clay than anywhere. That match was a real indicator that Nadal had the gravitas and the ability to live up to the hype and block everything out.
There were some players who were mentally strong, but their games weren’t as locked in. But Rafa at 18 when he came here, he was a fully formed mental competitor — he was a beast mentally already.
Toni Nadal: Federer is more specialised in hard and grass courts, but had a wonderful serve, and many good shots. It was a very difficult match. Everyone knew how good Federer was.
But after that, beating the world No. 1, we thought we could win the tournament.
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Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s first Grand Slam meeting started one of the greatest major rivalries in men’s tennis history. (Christian Liewig / Getty Images)
All that stood between Nadal and a first Grand Slam title was the unseeded Mariano Puerta. The Argentine, a left-hander and an accomplished clay-courter, posed Nadal different problems. He was back from a nine-month anti-doping ban issued in 2003, and he tested positive for etilefrine, a cardiac substance, shortly after his final against Nadal.
On the day before the final, Nadal was given a very special hitting partner — three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander. Stylistically, Wilander made little sense as a rightie who didn’t play with much topspin, but he and Nadal shared an agent in Carlos Costa, and the idea was that Nadal would be inspired by hitting with one of the greats of the game.
Mats Wilander: My main memory of that was that I couldn’t hit one forehand in the court because there was so much topspin. My backhand was OK, because I’ve got two hands, but it was really difficult to play against him — I’d never seen that much spin before in my life.
You can see it, but it’s different when you actually play against it. There’s a huge difference. And then, obviously, he got more and more spin and more and power the older he got. But in the beginning, it was mainly spin, and it was ridiculous.
I was expecting him to win (Roland Garros), maybe not that year necessarily, but you could see straight away that this guy was.
Perez-Barbadillo: There was tension the day before the final, but also we were playing a football game on the PlayStation in his room. It turned out to be good preparation.
Nadal picked up an early break in the first set, but Puerta’s level lifted after he received treatment for a thigh injury. Puerta recovered to take the first set, playing a daring brand of tennis, full of darts to the net and big swings with his forehand. Nadal rallied to take the next two sets, but found himself down 5-4 in the fourth, with Puerta serving to take the match into a decider and up two set points at 40-15. When a diving Puerta netted a volley to lose the second, Nadal leapt child-like into the air, a rare reminder of how young he was.
He saved a third set point with an absurd reflex volley, and Puerta knew the moment had gone. Two games later, Nadal was on his back in what would become his trademark celebration, winning 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
Covered in clay, he clambered up to his box, and shared a warm embrace with his family, including his uncle Toni, who had guided him to this point. He even shook hands with King Juan Carlos of Spain, who was in attendance.
“People say he dreams with his feet on the ground,” said Mary Carillo in her commentary on NBC. “He knows he belongs out here.”
Toni Nadal: I was very, very happy because I knew that for the big players, for the people who want to be very good, they all want to win a slam. And Rafael was 19 and he had one, and this is what I said to him that day. At least we know that we have one Grand Slam.
It was a very close match. Puerta played really well and made it difficult. Rafael played a little better in the key moments. If Puerta had won the set points he had in the fourth set, maybe we cannot win the match from there.
Mary Carillo: I forgot how good Puerta played, but what strikes me most watching it back was how fast Nadal was, and how incredible his defenses were. He was so damn young, the scissor kicks he did when he won big points and the fact that he was so fast, he wasn’t using what became a great shot in and of itself, his backhand, he was quick enough to run around and hit his big forehands. The three set points he saved when Puerta had a chance to take it into a fourth. Just, wow, it was fun stuff. The king, by the way, gave Nadal a standing ovation, along with a lot of other people, when he got it to 5-5 in the fourth.
Carlos Moya: It was a roller-coaster match, so open, and Puerta was playing amazing. We all thought Rafa could do it but until you win one, you don’t know mentally if someone is going to be ready. And if they got to the fifth set, you never know what can happen, because Puerta physically was a beast.
Clarey: A lot of the things that made 14 possible are there in that final. The point-to-point focus, the resistance to hype, the resistance to other people labeling him and creating his own scenario for himself. And the enjoyment and embrace of adversity.
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Toni Nadal: I thought he could win more Roland Garros titles because I am a logical man. When you win at 19, then I thought, “OK, if we win with 19, we can win when we’re 20,” and so on. Every year, I thought the next year he could win, but I never thought he could win 14 titles.
After the match, I wrote Rafael a note that said, “Puerta played better than you, but you won the match. If next year you play exactly the same, you cannot repeat the title, so we have to improve.”
Clarey: I got invited to the celebrations that night at the Café de l’Homme, which has a trillion-dollar view of the Eiffel Tower terrace. That’s where Rafa had his early victory parties, and the whole family was there. And I thought I would sort of go into a scene similar to what we saw in the Carlos Alcaraz documentary, you know, big celebrations kind of vibe. But it wasn’t that at all. It was very sober and dignified. Rafa was wearing an open shirt, no tie, looking nothing at all like the beast that he had been a few hours before, who had jumped around and was covered in clay. It was a little bit like Clark Kent and Superman.
Nadal sees that version of himself in simpler terms, and the final word belongs to the man himself.
Rafael Nadal: What I remember is a guy with plenty of energy, with an amazing passion and motivation for what I was doing.
 
Rafa's former coach - Carlos Moya

Rafa and his wife Maria Francisca (aka Mery, Xisca) attended a sad event on Friday - the funeral of Carlos Moya’s father, who passed away at the age of 87 after a prolonged illness.
www.diariodemallorca.es

Familiares y amigos despiden a Andreu Moyá, padre de Carlos Moyá

El extenista Rafa Nadal, su mujer Mery Perelló, Marcos Cabotá o Jaume Anglada, entre otros, han acudido al tanatorio de Son Valentí
www.diariodemallorca.es www.diariodemallorca.es
...
 
Escuela Universitaria UAX Rafa Nadal
In English: UAX Rafa Nadal University School

https://twitter.com/x/status/1931341828076319225
www.deccanherald.com

Rafa Nadal-Backed School Launches Sports Marketing Degree for Indian Professionals

Sports Education: UAX Rafa Nadal School partners with Sportzprix to offer India-focused online sports marketing master’s program for future industry leaders.
www.deccanherald.com www.deccanherald.com

Escuela Universitaria UAX Rafa Nadal is part of the Alfonso X el Sabio University (UAX) whose main campus is situated in Villanueva de la Cañada, about 30 km / 19 miles from Madrid.
Escuela Universitaria UAX Rafa Nadal was founded in 2022 (then known as UAX Rafa Nadal School of Sport; was renamed in 2025) with the aim of preparing students for careers in three areas of the sports industry: sport, health and business. The school also offers several master's degree programs. The programs include visiting Rafa's academy in Mallorca and learning from sports specialists there.

www.uax.com

Escuela Universitaria UAX Rafa Nadal

Rafa Nadal y UAX se unen para crear una Escuela Universitaria pionera y referente a nivel internacional en la formación de profesionales del deporte y la salud deportiva
www.uax.com www.uax.com

(y)
...
 
octobrina10 said:
Rafa's former coach - Carlos Moya

Rafa and his wife Maria Francisca (aka Mery, Xisca) attended a sad event on Friday - the funeral of Carlos Moya’s father, who passed away at the age of 87 after a prolonged illness.
www.diariodemallorca.es

Familiares y amigos despiden a Andreu Moyá, padre de Carlos Moyá

El extenista Rafa Nadal, su mujer Mery Perelló, Marcos Cabotá o Jaume Anglada, entre otros, han acudido al tanatorio de Son Valentí
www.diariodemallorca.es www.diariodemallorca.es
...
Click to expand...
https://twitter.com/x/status/1931470069306921287

gymdal
https://twitter.com/x/status/1931403438782361876
 
Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor
Rafa Nadal Sports Centre in Manacor
The RN Academy is part of the RN Sports Centre

The Rafa Nadal School (RNS) will hold its 9th annual graduation ceremony this coming Wednesday. German former footballer Toni Kroos, who played for Real Madrid and won 23 titles with it in 10 seasons, will be the special guest at the ceremony.

www.ultimahora.es

Toni Kroos presidirá la graduación de la Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar

El alemán tomará el testigo de otros grandes deportistas que han acompañado a Rafael Nadal en los últimos años
www.ultimahora.es www.ultimahora.es

RNS is situated within Rafa's academy and allows young athletes to combine tennis and studies. Both athletes and non-athletes are admitted to the school. Students of more than 45 nationalities are studying at RNS this school year.

RNS is divided into three stages: primary, middle and high school. The high school program is designed to prepare students for college/university. The graduates receive the American High School Diploma. The graduates from Spain also receive the Spanish Baccalaureate Degree (necessary to access Spanish universities).
https://www.rafanadalacademy.com/en/tennis-school-program/international-school/

Since 2018, Rafa has invited a successful athlete, with whom he has a good relationship, as the special guest to RNS’s graduation ceremony. The special guest has delivered a speech, handed over diplomas and taken pictures with graduates. The special guests have been:

2018 - Pau Gasol (a Spanish pro basketballer, who also played for NBA; Rafa’s longtime friend);
2019 - David Ferrer;
2020 - no guests due to the pandemic; Maria Sharapova and Federer congratulated graduates with a video message;
2021 - Ona Carbonell (a Spanish synchronized swimmer, a two-time Olympic medalist; she has visited Rafa’s academy many times);
2022 - Ricky Rubio (a Spanish pro basketballer, who also played for NBA);
2023 - Iga Swiatek;
2024 - Carlos Moya.

(y) to Rafa’s academy!
...
 
Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor
Rafa Nadal Sports Centre in Manacor
The RN Academy is part of the RN Sports Centre
octobrina10 said:
...
The Rafa Nadal School (RNS) will hold its 9th annual graduation ceremony this coming Wednesday. German former footballer Toni Kroos, who played for Real Madrid and won 23 titles with it in 10 seasons, will be the special guest at the ceremony.
... (I deleted the rest of the content of my post from the reply. Click on my username to see the full content of my post I quoted.)
Click to expand...

Rafa’s academy says on Instagram that 52 students will graduate from the Rafa Nadal School (RNS) this year:


(y) to Rafa’s academy!
...
 
Auction

Rafa’s racquet he used during the 2017 FO-winning final when he completed ‘La Decima’ was sold at a Prestige Memorabilia auction for a record price of $157K.

ESPN, 9 Jun 2025 (excerpts):

¤¤ Rafael Nadal's 2017 French Open-winning racket sells for record price​


A Babolat racket used by Rafael Nadal during his 2017 French Open-winning final was sold at a Prestige Memorabilia auction for $157,333 including buyer's premium on Sunday, the most ever paid for a tennis racket.

The previous record was a racket Nadal used during the 2022 Australian Open -- his final Grand Slam title when he defeated Daniil Medvedev -- which sold for $139,700 at Sotheby's in 2023. …

"To find a Grand Slam Final-used racket from Rafael Nadal is rare," reads the Prestige Memorabilia lot description. …

The custom-made racket includes his "Rafa" emblem on the throat and a stringing sticker from the 2017 French Open that reads "RG 2017 Nadal." ¤¤

www.espn.com.au

Rafael Nadal's 2017 French Open-winning racket sells for record price

Nadal won his 10th French Open title using this racket and didn't drop a set all tournament.
www.espn.com.au www.espn.com.au

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octobrina10 said:
Auction

Rafa’s racquet he used during the 2017 FO-winning final when he completed ‘La Decima’ was sold at a Prestige Memorabilia auction for a record price of $157K.

ESPN, 9 Jun 2025 (excerpts):

¤¤ Rafael Nadal's 2017 French Open-winning racket sells for record price​


A Babolat racket used by Rafael Nadal during his 2017 French Open-winning final was sold at a Prestige Memorabilia auction for $157,333 including buyer's premium on Sunday, the most ever paid for a tennis racket.

The previous record was a racket Nadal used during the 2022 Australian Open -- his final Grand Slam title when he defeated Daniil Medvedev -- which sold for $139,700 at Sotheby's in 2023. …

"To find a Grand Slam Final-used racket from Rafael Nadal is rare," reads the Prestige Memorabilia lot description. …

The custom-made racket includes his "Rafa" emblem on the throat and a stringing sticker from the 2017 French Open that reads "RG 2017 Nadal." ¤¤

www.espn.com.au

Rafael Nadal's 2017 French Open-winning racket sells for record price

Nadal won his 10th French Open title using this racket and didn't drop a set all tournament.
www.espn.com.au www.espn.com.au

1f60e.svg

..
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would love that, but a little out of my price league...if only it got down to 150,000 even :)
 
Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor
Rafa Nadal Sports Centre in Manacor
The academy is part of the sports centre

Fans met Rafa at the Roland-Garros restaurant in his sports centre /academy yesterday (Monday) on 4 June (but they posted the picture today):

GtDvM6UWwAAK1Fd

Via wogns7657 IG

Vamos Rafa!
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Relaxing Time

Disney News FR’s tweet below reads in French:
“(Parks & Resorts) A few days ago, tennis legend Rafael Nadal visited Disneyland Paris, where he posed alongside Mickey!”[Translated via Google.]

I think, it was the next day after his tribute ceremony. A Spanish journalist tweeted on 26 May that Rafa was going to visit Disneyland Paris with his family before returning to Spain. He loves Disneyland Paris, he has visited it many times. He has also posed for photoshoots there.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1932379895805468920

Added later.
Disneyland Paris News, 10 June 2025

¤¤ RAFAEL NADAL VISITS DISNEYLAND PARIS​

As Roland-Garros paid him a heartfelt tribute, Rafael Nadal chose to extend the emotion with a truly magical stay at Disneyland Paris with his loved ones, including his son, who was discovering the destination for the very first time with wide-eyed wonder.

On this special occasion, the athlete and his family experienced the Disneyland Park in full swing with the Disney Music Festival, before ending the day with Disney Tales of Magic, the destination’s brand-new nighttime show.

A highlight of this unforgettable stay: a heartwarming encounter between the spanish champion and Mickey Mouse, dressed as a tennis player especially for the occasion, in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle.

“A few days ago, I was extremely touched by the farewell I received at Roland Garros. I finished saying thanks you France and Thank you Paris and difficult to say more than that. Paris is always in my heart and as part of that Disneyland Paris has also been special. The magical moment continued, and it had to be once again at one of my favorite places. Thank you for the great time you allowed me to have with my family to put a beautiful end to what, once again, was a very special moment for me.” --Rafael Nadal. ¤¤
news.disneylandparis.com

RAFAEL NADAL VISITS DISNEYLAND PARIS

As Roland-Garros paid him a heartfelt tribute, Rafael Nadal chose to extend the emotion with a truly magical stay at Disneyland Paris with his loved ones, including his son, who was discovering the destination for the very first time with wide-eyed wonder. On this special occasion, the athlete...
news.disneylandparis.com news.disneylandparis.com

RafaelNadalfamilyMickey.jpg

In the 2nd row (from the left): Rafa's uncle Miguel Angel Nadal, sister, mother-in-law, mother, Rafa, Rafa's wife and father; in the front row: Miguel Angel's wife with their daughter, Mickey Mouse and Junior.


:love:
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Relaxing Time​

octobrina10 said:
Rafa is expected to participate in the charity golf tournament titled “Gasol Foundation Golf Invitational” taking place at La Hacienda Links Golf Resort in southern Spain from 19 to 21 June. The event, organised by Pau Gasol, a Spanish former pro baskeballer and Rafa’s long-time friend, aims to raise funds for childhood obesity prevention.
...(I deleted the rest of the content of my post from the reply. Click on my username to see the full content of my post I quoted.)
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Pau Gasol confirms that the first edition of a charity golf tournament titled “Gasol Foundation Golf Invitational”, which will be dedicated to raising funds for a great charitable cause: fighting childhood obesity, will be held at La Hacienda Links Golf Resort in southern Spain from 19 to 21 June.
Rafa is expected to participate in the tournament.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1932444618424983564
animated-smileys-sport-038.gif.pagespeed.ce._cL4pPSFiX.gif
Vamos Rafa!
....
 
Mustard said:
The first set of that match was of the highest quality, with Ferrer pushing Nadal to the limit, including set point. It wasn't routine at that point, at all.
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you are so right...journos do forget details, just react on score.

GREAT THROWBACK
16 year old RAFA against Mathieu [2006 RG also comes to mind against a racuous crowd]
never seen this one before... the Moya match was great as well
 
International Athletes' Forum 2025

Rafa participated in the 12th edition of the International Athletes' Forum (IAF) virtually today. He was interviewed by Pau Gasol for abouit 30 minutes (you can see it in the YouTube video below).

I added the tweet later.
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932828463230042183


AIMS website (excerpts) : ¤¤ The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’ Commission (AC) will host the 12th edition of the International Athletes’ Forum (IAF) on 11 and 12 June 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The event will bring together more than 400 athlete representatives and offer many more the possibility to follow live on IOC platforms.
Held every two years, the IAF provides a platform for athletes’ commissions from International Federations (IFs), National Olympic Committees (NOCs), Continental Associations as well as Olympic Games Organising Committees, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to meet in person and discuss the issues that matter most to athletes, while equipping them with resources designed to strengthen their own athletes’ commissions. The IAF is the world’s largest gathering of athlete representatives.
The IOC Athletes' Commission (AC) represents future, current and recently retired athletes and Olympians. ¤¤

International Athletes’ Forum 2025: how to follow live – AIMS

aims.sport aims.sport

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Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor
Rafa Nadal Sports Centre in Manacor
The RN Academy is part of the RN Sports Centre
octobrina10 said:
...
The Rafa Nadal School (RNS) will hold its 9th annual graduation ceremony this coming Wednesday.
...(I deleted the rest of the content of my post from the reply. Click on my username to see the full content of my post I quoted.)
Click to expand...

The Rafa Nadal School (RNS) is holding its 9th annual graduation ceremony tonight.

The RNS is situated within Rafa's academy and allows young athletes to combine tennis and studies. Both athletes and non-athletes are admitted to the school. The graduates receive the American High School Diploma. The graduates from Spain also receive the Spanish Baccalaureate Degree (necessary to access Spanish universities). 52 students are graduating this year.

German former footballer Toni Kroos, who played for Real Madrid and won 23 titles with it in 10 seasons, is the special guest at the ceremony. Since 2018, Rafa has invited a successful athlete, with whom he has a good relationship, as the special guest to the RNS’s graduation ceremony.

LIVE (The ceremony started about 7 PM CET):


I added the tweets below after the ceremony.

Rafa delivers a speech:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932851154255237286

Toni Kroos and Rafa take photos with graduates:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932859404899975406

The graduates throw their caps in the air:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932862612313682354

(y) to Rafa’s academy!
...
 
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Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor
Rafa Nadal Sports Centre in Manacor
The RN Academy is part of the RN Sports Centre
octobrina10 said:
The Rafa Nadal School (RNS) is holding its 9th annual graduation ceremony tonight.
...(I deleted the rest of the content of my post from the reply. Click on my username to see the full content of my post I quoted.)
Click to expand...

More videos and pictures from the RNS graduation ceremony.

The boss:
GtMm0VgXoAAabf5

GtMlJv2WoAE12W2

Photos via Diario de Mallorca

https://twitter.com/x/status/1932886317802680351
https://twitter.com/x/status/1932893259371565455

(y) to Rafa’s academy!
...
 
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