The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (RNA) was founded in 2016 and nine years later the high-profile tennis training centre has already produced five Grand Slam junior champions.
The leading sports centre, the brainchild of the great Rafael Nadal, is situated in Manacor on the island of Mallorca, Spain, and has a total of 45 tennis courts – 23 hard courts (with four indoor) and 22 clay courts (seven are semi-indoor).
The facility also has 12 padel courts, two squash courts, a football pitch, two swimming pools, and a sports medicine facility while the Rafa International School provides education for 10- to 18-year-olds at the academy.
Legendary coach Toni Nadal, who mentored Rafa Nadal from a young age until 2022, is the former academy director, while former world No 1 Carlos Moya is the technical director. The coaching list includes former Anabel Medina, Pedro Clar, Joan Bosch, Mark Krauss, Nacho Gonzalez and Alex Praderas.
The official Rafa Nadal Academy website states: “The young players who train at the Academy combine their tennis activity with excellence in their studies.
“The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar combines high-performance sports education with education in the classrooms of the Rafa Nadal International School in order to form good tennis players and great people for society. Integral human formation is based on values such as effort, humility, tolerance, patience, respect, integrity, discipline, order and commitment.”
Barely five years after RNA was launched, it produced its first Grand Slam junior champion and several more names have been added to the ever-growing list.
Who are the five Grand Slam junior champions who have come through the Rafa Nadal Academy?
Dani Rincon – 2021
The Spaniard made his breakthrough at the 2021 US Open when he became the first player from the RNA to win a junior Grand Slam, beating Shang Juncheng in the final in New York when he was 18 years old.
Rincon is yet to break through at the top level as he peaked at a career-high No 181 in the ATP Rankings in December 2023, but currently sits at No 205 and he is yet to play in a Grand Slam main draw match as he has lost in the qualifying rounds at all four majors.
Alex Eala – 2022
Filipino youngster Eala was the first female from the Rafa Nadal Academy to win a Grand Slam at junior level as she joined Rincon on the honours board at the 2022 US Open, beating the likes of fellow future WTA stars Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko en route to the title.
The teenager also won Grand Slam doubles titles at junior level as she lifted the 2020 Australian Open girls’ trophy alongside Priska Madelyn Nugroho and the 2021 French Open title with Oksana Selekhmeteva.
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Three years after her girls’ title at Flushing Meadows, Eala announced herself at WTA Tour level at the 2025 Miami Open as she beat Grand Slam winners Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the semi-final of the Miami Open.
Her run was ended by Jessica Pegula, but she then became the first Filipina to play in the main draw of a Grand Slam when she played at Roland Garros before her first win at the majors arrived at the US Open.
Eala has gone on to win her maiden WTA 125K title while she also finished runner-up at the WTA 250 Eastbourne Open.
The 20-year-old has already broken into the top 60 of the WTA Rankings, peaking at No 56 and there is no doubt it is only a matter of time before she breaks into the top 50.
Martin Landaluce – 2022
The 2022 US Open was a golden one for the RNA as Spaniard Landaluce defeated Gilles-Arnaud Bailly in three sets in the boys’ final in New York at the age of 16.
Landaluce had made his ATP Tour debut earlier in 2022 and he had to wait until 2024 to win his maiden match with the victory coming at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid Open.
Later in the year, the 18-year-old won his maiden title at the 2024 Olbia Challenger as he became the youngest Spanish Challenger champion since an 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in Oeiras in 2021.
Landaluce has reached a career-high No 133, but currently sits at No 138.
Alina Korneeva – 2023
The Russian is the first player from the Rafa Nadal Academy to win two Grand Slam junior titles as she doubled up in 2023, winning the Australian Open and French Open trophies at the age of 15. Korneeva beat current world No 6 Andreeva in the final in Melbourne and Lucciana Perez Alarcon at Roland Garros.
She reached No 1 in the ITF junior world rankings in 2023 and made her WTA Tour debut during the final few months of the year.
Her Grand Slam debut came at the 2025 Australian Open after coming through qualifying and she won her opener, beating Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Korneeva hit a career-high No 128 in the WTA Rankings in 2024, but currently sits at No 168.
Ivan Ivanov – 2025
The 16-year-old Ivan Ivanov followed in fellow Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov’s footsteps by winning the Wimbledon and US Open boys’ singles titles in the same year. Dimitrov achieved the feat in 2008 and he went on to reach a career-high No 3 in the ATP Rankings.
Shortly after his Wimbledon success, Ivanov reached No 1 in the ITF junior singles title before going on to lift the junior title at Flushing Meadows in September.
The Bulgarian teenager is currently at No 934 in the ATP Rankings, but it is only a matter of time before he claims some big wins at the top level of men’s tennis.