The ATP Challenger Tour takes over the world-class facilities at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain for one week to host the Rafa Nadal Open by Sotheby’s.
The tournament site is on an island of tennis paradise. The academy is home to 26 tennis courts (hard and clay), multiple pools, an on-site hotel, a full service restaurant, squash courts, padel courts, a state-of-the-art gym, physio rooms, and the Rafa Nadal Museum.
The tournament’s facilities stand out to Challenger Tour players, including Belgian Zizou Bergs, who is seeded fourth at this week’s tournament.
“It’s my second time here, at the Rafa Nadal Academy. Honestly, I would pay money to be here,” Bergs said. “I see tourists coming in and I’m thinking how special it is to stay here and compete. They are here to see the museum in the day and come to watch you play tennis in the evening. Seeing all the facilities they have, it’s a privilege to be here. I think a lot of players think this way too.”
Since the event began in 2018, Joan Suasi has been the tournament director. Though the work is hard, Suasi knows how vital hosting a Challenger at the Academy is.
“It’s the most important event of the academy,” Suasi said. “We put a lot of energy into it and are super happy to see that people are having such a good time.”
The week following the tournament, the annual and semester educational programs begin for players from 11 to 18-years-old. During the summer months, the academy holds a variety of summer camps. Despite the challenge of hosting the tournament during the first week of the US Open, Suasi claims it’s the perfect week for the academy.
“We have our annual school starting next week and we ended summer camps last week. Basically, we have this gap in between those weeks, which we use for our Challenger event. We need all the facilities to organise this event, including the hotel and the residences that we use to house staff. There’s a lot of people involved in the tournament so we need to be at full capacity.”
Some of the games’ best players have made their way to the Mallorca Challenger. In 2019, three-time major champion Andy Murray opted to play in his return from hip surgery. A large smile came across Suasi’s face as he recalled the day the former World No. 1 played in his backyard.
“I remember friends of mine were calling me the afternoon Andy was supposed to play, saying, ‘Is he really here? Is he really going to play…
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