Rafael Nadal met yoga professor Xuan Lan with his coach Carlos Moya in Mallorca on Tuesday, and Lan shared her excitement about meeting the tennis legends on social media. The yoga professor took to Instagram to share a few photos of her two-hour-long session with the two Spaniards at the Rafa Nadal Academy.
Lan, who is the founder of XLY studio, revealed that Moya told her that professional sport demands imperative factors like discipline, travel, perseverance, and most importantly passion to keep going despite all the odds. She also gave her gratitude to "KIA" for giving her the opportunity to visit and interact with these two greats.
"I feel lucky to have met two great tennis champions at the @rafanadalacademy in Mallorca. The great Rafa @rafaelnadal, the living legend, and his coach and former tennis player Carlos Moyá who was also number 1 in the world. Moyá has told us that professional sport is discipline, travel, perseverance and above all passion. The 2 hours of class have been fun and the opportunity to feel the difficult precision of this sport," Lan wrote in her caption (translated from Spanish).
Rafael Nadal recently partnered with his great rival as well as friend Roger Federer for the latter's farewell match in the Laver Cup. The pair lost to the American duo of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe. After playing with Federer, Nadal decided to withdraw from the event due to personal reasons.
Meanwhile, Team World defeated Team Europe by a score of 13-8 and won the Laver Cup for the first time since the tournament's inception in 2017.
"Great goals are not achieved overnight" - Rafael Nadal at Rafa Nadal Academy graduation ceremony
Rafael Nadal's tennis academy is doing a great job at getting the best out of the young players. The Rafa Nadal Academy, as it is called, has provided a hollistic environment for students to learn academically while also being exposed to the highest levels of coaching and learning for tennis.
At this year's graduation ceremony, Nadal imparted on the students that success cannot be achieved overnight and that they will have to fight, fail and learn to get the best out of their respective careers.
"I know that what is fashionable now is immediacy and that patience is not a virtue that is highly valued. When we want anything, we just have to pick up the mobile phone and make a purchase, watch the news, or have the information we need," Nadal said.
"But today I would like to remind you that the great goals in life are not achieved overnight. They are achieved by fighting, fighting and learning from falls (...) Failure is only bad if you do not know how to get up and fight again," he added.
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