DO YOU REMEMBER THEM? YES, THESE FIGURES ALSO PLAYED THE RAFA NADAL OPEN BY MOVISTAR

The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar opened its doors on 16 October 2016 and less than two years later the facilities located in Manacor hosted the first Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar. Only in 2020, and due to the pandemic, the tournament could not be held.

The Challenger circuit is a much-needed boost to young people’s careers. In tournaments of this category, tennis players gain much-needed experience and accumulate ATP points that allow them to climb the rankings. In these five editions, the tournament has seen the growth of many players who have quickly become part of the elite of world tennis.

Did you know that…?

Carlos Alcaraz played at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in 2019. At that time, the Murcian was barely 16 years old and was already dazzling on the tennis courts. He enjoyed the impressive setting as much as anyone: “The facilities are impressive, the rooms and the courts are incredible, I can only sum it up by saying that everything here is incredible.” Carlos Alcaraz has been world number 1 thanks to, among other things, the 3 Grand Slam titles won in New York, London and Paris. The man who was champion of the Rafa Nadal Tour when he was a teenager returned years later to compete in the Rafa Nadal Open. Did you remember? You never know if you’ll be watching a young star on the courts of the Rafa Nadal Academy who will reach the top. Take note of the players you come across.

The recently retired Andy Murray also competed in the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar in the same year as Carlitos Alcaraz. The three-time Grand Slam champion was recovering from an injury and took advantage of the tournament to continue fine-tuning his form. This is another of the circuit’s great virtues. It offers the opportunity to players who have been injured or have had a difficult period to return to the elite step by step.

There is another former world top 10 player who has thoroughly enjoyed the tournament. He is from Madrid and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, losing to Rafa Nadal in one of the best matches in the history of tennis. In addition, it gave Spain the decisive point to win the 2008 Davis Cup. We are talking of course about the Spaniard Fernando Verdasco . Nadal and the Madrid native are good friends and have shared trips and tournaments for two decades. This is what Verdasco had to say after playing in the 2021 edition : “I have known Rafa since he was 14 years old and since then our careers have been parallel, coinciding in all the tournaments for 20 years. I am very happy to be here for the first time since the Academy was inaugurated and it is a blessing to have all this public that is coming to cheer us on.”

Among the tournament’s champions, several figures stand out: let’s start at the end. Hamad Medjedovic , champion of the last edition of the Rafa Nadal Challenge by Movistar. The Serbian dazzled the tennis world with his three victories on the Circuit in a period of just six months. In Mallorca he defeated Harold Mayot in the final to lift his last trophy on the circuit. Thanks to his spectacular season, the 20-year-old player qualified to participate in the ATP Next Gen Finals. Medjedovic had a dream week, winning all five of his matches and lifting the trophy after beating Arthur Fils in the final in Saudi Arabia. The Serbian, champion in Mallorca, crowned the year with a victory that crowns him as the best young player of the year.

Italian Luca Nardi won in Manacor in 2022 after a terrible and disputed final against Zizou Bergs that was resolved 7-5 in the third set. The Italian, champion of six Challenger tournaments, continues to grow day by day on the circuit and already has a victory against Novak Djokovic. It was this year at the Indian Wells tournament. The most important victory of his career. Belgian Bergs has already broken through the top 100 barrier (his best ranking is 77th).

The brand new Australian Bernard Tomic was the first champion of the tournament. The former world top 20 player and four-time ATP champion defeated Matthias Bachinger in an epic final that the Australian won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3). The second winner in Manacor was Emiil Russuvuori , the Finn is a true national hero and the best player in his country after Jarko Nieminen. A regular in his country’s Davis Cup squad, he already knows what it’s like to be among the top forty players in the world.

The circuit is not only made up of young players and in 2021 the champion was the experienced Lucas Lacko. With his victory at the Rafa Nadal Open by Movistar he lifted the last of his 14 titles on the Challenger Circuit: “If I compare the level of this tournament with the rest of the Challengers, this one is of a very high level. I didn’t expect this level of organisation and facilities, I am very impressed with everything that happens here, it should be a higher category tournament. Everything here is spectacular.”