It has been announced that tennis star Rafael Nadal, with the collaboration of the City of Manacor & the Consell de Mallorca, is to create an international tennis centre in his home town of Manacor. The construction is expected to begin at the end of the summer 2011 and will be entirely funded by Nadal.
The facilities will include 15-25 tennis courts, a football ground, swimming pool, medical centre and accommodation for 70-100 athletes. The site earmarked for the project is at the sports centre of Torre dels Enagistes to the south of the city. The government is delighted that the world's number one tennis star has committed to such a project, saying that the centre will put Majorca on the map, not only for tennis, but for sport at all levels.
Rafa Nadal hopes his school will attract players from all over the world and become a place where young talent can be nurtured and transformed into professional tennis players. He told a press conference that this tennis academy is something that he has thought about for many years and that the opportunity to create such a centre in his home town gives him great personal satisfaction.
The centre will also become the headquarters of the Foundation Rafael Nadal. Nadal firmly believes in encouraging young people, especially those in socially disadvantaged situations, to become involved with sport so that they can develop personal skills such as self-esteem and confidence.
