Rafael Nadal planning to set up branded tennis clubs all over Europe and Asia

20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal is all set to expand his business ventures with the launch of the Rafa Nadal Club brand, a new format targeted at the big cities in Europe and Asia.

Currently, Rafael Nadal's academy portfolio includes the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor and Kuwait as well as the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Mexico. The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar combines tennis and education, enabling students to continue their tennis career while pursuing their academic studies.

Meanwhile the Rafa Nadal Tennis Centre in Mexico offers a chance for tennis fans to find out first-hand what it's like to train with the Rafa Nadal Academy method.

The Rafa Nadal club brand would be similar to both the Manacor academy and the Mexico facility, as pointed out by Carlos Costa. Costa is the business manager of the Rafa Nadal Academy and also the agent of Rafael Nadal.

"It is a concept of a club like the one we have created in Manacor, but that we want to take to the big cities of the world," Costa said.

"The idea is to serve adults and young people, but also have a gym, paddle tennis and spa; it is a mix between the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar and the Rafa Nadal Tennis Center," he added.

Costa is reportedly in negotiations with investors, hotels and resorts to promote the concept in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Some of the venues being considered for the venture are Shanghai, Dubai and Singapore.

Rafael Nadal's team is currently looking for the right partners to collaborate with. The partnership would see the Spanish champion providing the brand and the methodology, and the investor focusing on the funding and local requirements.

"We like to have partners who are knowledgeable in the world of sport and tennis," Costa added. "(We are in) No hurry. Right now the concern is to overcome the difficult year we are having. Now we are better placed to face the situation (the lockdown and pandemic) and start weighing in the future."

Rafael Nadal's Academy in Kuwait will also see an expansion

Rafael Nadal

The first Rafa Nadal Club is already operational in Kuwait, where Rafael Nadal is working with a local partner, Tandeem Group. This is the first international training facility by Nadal, with a residential academy set to be built in the second phase.

"In Asia, our partners highly value being associated with a brand like Rafael Nadal's," Carlos Costa went on. "We opened the complex in February and Covid-19 paralyzed everything, but there we have a team of technicians trained in Manacor led by Nuno Marques, who was the head coach at the academy and now heads the tennis project there."