Young players who enter the world of professional tennis intending to achieve greatness, have an individual or an institution behind their strong training. Ariana Geerlings, an emerging WTA talent who will be starting her professional journey in the upcoming season, recently talked about her experience at the Rafael Nadal Academy.

The 18-year-old enthusiast, who recently came out of the prestigious academy, is emerging as a strong force in the world of tennis. As the media turned their attention towards the young star, she made several surprising revelations that not only gave enthusiasts exposure to the renowned academy but also explained how Tony Nadal uses the legend-making formula to train young stars.

Young tennis player reveals the secrets of the Rafael Nadal Academy

The Rafael Nadal Academy is one of the most renowned tennis schools in the world, where young talents can learn from the experience and philosophy of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. The academy, located in Mallorca, Spain, offers an all-round development program that involves both tennis training along with academic education and personal development. Out of the many students who come out with extensive training to take part in the competitive tennis world, Ariana Geerlings, a promising Dutch player who will start her professional career in 2024, recently surprised fans with amazing revelations.

Geerlings, who joined the academy when she was 14 years old, shared her thoughts on how her training under the guidance of Rafael Nadal and his uncle Toni made her a strong force. She mentioned, “Surely some will think it, but you have to live it to know what is best for you. To this day, I think I made a good decision coming home.” She also explained that the academy tried to create “mini-Nadales” by following the same training schedule and mentality that made Rafa one of the greatest players of all time. “They try to rely a lot on his career, they train for many hours, and Toni is very present, he trained me a lot. They take the same philosophy as Rafa, a lot of training and little rest, totally focused on the track,” she said.

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However, she also admitted that this approach had its drawbacks, as not everyone could cope with the physical and mental demands of such an intense regime. “That caused many injuries, because no one has Rafa’s physique. Many of us couldn’t keep up with the pace of training five hours a day and not having rest days,” she said.

Geerlings reveals how Tony Nadal inspires her with Rafa’s stories

Along with mentioning the details about the extensive training schedule at the Rafael Nadal academy, Ariana Geerlings also shared some of the learnings she gained from the man who helped shape one of the greatest tennis players of all time. “Tony is talking about Rafa every day, yes. He always gives examples from when he was little, he really highlighted that intelligence of knowing when he didn’t have to miss or when he had to pass one more ball, he was very clever in that sense.”

Along with mentioning the strong motivation that Tony brings in with narrating the incidents from Rafa’s life, the 18-year-old also shared how the legendary coach keeps on explaining Rafa’s evolution as a strong player. He also told us about the evolution that Rafa has had as he gets older, always driven by that iron mentality,” Geerlings said. The revelations, coming directly from a bright student, gave out how the academy trains the players with an extensive schedule just like Rafa did.