The 2023 French Open Champion and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek capped off (no pun intended) a busy few days by speaking at the graduation for the Class of 2023 at Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain.
The 22-year-old asked for the crowd’s approval to borrow a graduation cap so she could toss it with the class since her own graduation happened during the COVID-19 pandemic and was an online event.
🎥: @iga_swiatek https://t.co/zgWaTGcyUV pic.twitter.com/v3zgRcsgoH
— rafael_nadal_by_hippo (@rnbyhippo22) June 14, 2023
Iga is a life-long fan and admirer of Nadal so she would never say no to a personal request from him.
Thank you so much @RafaelNadal & @rnadalacademy for having me. I loved every minute of this experience.🥰 pic.twitter.com/cREKipBfG8
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 14, 2023
Thanks you Iga for your presence today here in Mallorca and for your words for all. @iga_swiatek 🙏🏻
A special day for all those grown up kids and their families. And congrats once again for your amazing achievement on Sunday. https://t.co/povkHHwdzP— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 14, 2023
The Rafael Nadal Academy
Rafael Nadal’s Academy is not just about tennis.
It is open to young people between the ages of 12 and 18.
While tennis is part of the curriculum, academics are also a cornerstone.
The Academy also emphasizes ” comprehensive human training based on values such as hard work, humility, tolerance, patience, respect, integrity, discipline, organisation and commitment”.
And last but not least, “fundamental aspects such as physical and mental training and the importance of nutrition.”
The Academy Is A Labor Of Love For Rafa
Even though he is recovering from surgery and is not expected to play the rest of the year, Nadal is always beaming with pride when he is at his academy.
Everything about his academy is very personal and important to him.
He is invested in educating the next generation to be good athletes and people.
What’s Next For Iga?
Iga will be preparing for grass court season in the near term.
Wimbledon starts on July 11 so there is not a lot of downtime for her between now and then.
It is unclear what grass-court warmup tournaments she will participate in, but we can expect her to tune up her game before stepping foot on Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
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