The Rafa Nadal Academy continues to strengthen its commitment to padel with the launch of its new Annual Padel Program, an innovative holistic development program designed to become a global benchmark for young players looking to maximize both their sporting and academic potential.
Inspired by the successful Annual Tennis Program model, the new program brings to padel the philosophy that has made the Rafa Nadal Academy one of the world’s most prestigious high-performance training centers: sporting excellence, international academic education, and a values-based approach built around effort, humility, resilience, respect, and discipline.
What makes this project truly unique is the combination of several key differentiators that are hard to find anywhere else in the world: a training methodology led by Rodri Ovide, one of the most influential coaches in international padel; top-level facilities designed to optimise player performance; a multidisciplinary team of strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, psychologists and physiotherapists; and the opportunity to combine athletic development with an international education on campus.
The Rodri Ovide methodology: learn to compete, decide and evolve
The new programme will be built around the methodology developed by Rodri Ovide, coach to some of the best players in padel history and the driving force behind the development of leading figures such as Gemma Triay, Juan Lebrón, Paquito Navarro, Martín Di Nenno, Álex Ruiz, Alejandra Salazar and Marta Ortega.
His working model focuses on developing players who can read the game, make better decisions and compete under pressure, enhancing each athlete’s individual strengths.
“The foundation of my method is to develop players who enjoy learning. It’s not about copying models, but about helping each player discover the best version of themselves. We want them to learn how to compete, how to make decisions and how to understand the game from a deeper perspective,” explains Rodri Ovide.
The programme will include specific technical and tactical training, personalised physical preparation, psychological work, nutritional monitoring, video analysis, competition planning and regular assessments to ensure continuous progress.
An academic and sporting experience in a unique environment
Participants will be able to pursue their education in an environment that brings together, in one place, all the resources needed to reach peak performance.
The Rafa Nadal Academy facilities feature 19 state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor courts, a high-performance gym, specialised medical services, physiotherapy, sports nutrition, performance psychology and residential areas designed to support athletes’ all-round development.
One of the Annual Padel Program’s greatest differentiators is the opportunity to combine athletic development with an outstanding academic education at Rafa Nadal School, the American international school located on campus. Students can follow an accredited US curriculum in a multicultural environment that fosters both academic and personal growth. This model allows young athletes to pursue their sporting goals without giving up a top-level education, preparing them to successfully face future challenges on and off the court.
The experience is completed with a residence designed to offer maximum wellbeing for student-athletes. Participants live in a safe, international environment, with constant supervision and access to all the services they need for their all-round development. In addition, they have a nutrition plan specifically tailored to the demands of high performance, including breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared under the supervision of the team led by Gemma Bes, a renowned sports nutritionist with extensive experience working with elite athletes. In this way, every detail of daily life is geared towards optimising performance, recovery and the development of healthy habits that will stay with students throughout their careers.
To date, more than 700 students from over 50 nationalities have taken part in the Academy’s annual programmes, supported by a team of more than 500 professionals.
Rafa Nadal Academy’s commitment to the global growth of padel
Maribel Nadal, Deputy General Manager of Rafa Nadal Academy, highlights that the launch of the Annual Padel Program responds to growing international demand for specialised padel training programmes: “When we opened the Academy in 2016, our main focus was high-performance tennis. However, over the years we’ve seen how more and more players from around the world are looking to enjoy a complete sporting experience. We started by developing padel programmes, and today we are very proud to present an annual programme that brings together all the Academy’s knowledge, facilities and values around a sport that continues to grow extraordinarily.”
Rafa Nadal Academy’s commitment to padel has been consolidated in recent years through the organisation of international events, participation in projects such as the Hexagon Cup, the creation of the Rafa Nadal Academy Pádel Tour, held in Spain, Italy, the United States, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as the addition of global stars such as Gemma Triay and Franco Stupaczuk as ambassadors.
“It’s impressive. These are world-class facilities. Here you have absolutely everything a player needs to develop: courts, physical preparation, nutrition, psychology and a unique environment to train in,” says Gemma Triay.
Meanwhile, Franco Stupaczuk highlights the Academy’s commitment to the international growth of the sport: “I see a real commitment here to helping padel continue to expand. I’m happy to be part of this project and to represent the values of Rafa Nadal Academy.”
Much more than a padel programme
The Annual Padel Program was created with a clear purpose: to develop better players, but also better people. Following the legacy and philosophy Rafa Nadal has shared throughout his career, the programme aims for each student to learn to live with high expectations, daily effort and continuous improvement in an international environment where sport, education and values come together under one shared goal.
Rafa Nadal with the Rafa Nadal Academy Annual Program students
A pioneering initiative that places Rafa Nadal Academy at the forefront of padel education worldwide and aims to become the go-to destination for the next generations of players.