Rafael Nadal invites junior champions from Japan for a week-long training session at his academy
Rafael Nadal showed his class once more by inviting the winners of the Tomas Cup in Japan to his tennis academy for a one-week training session.
The Tomas Cup is part of the Edion Japan Junior Tennis Tour and features around 450 participants split into five categories. After four days of intense competition, the field was whittled down to 10 winners -- one boys' and one girls' champion in each category.
The winners in every age group except the Under-10 will travel to Mallorca to meet the 21-time Grand Slam champion.
The invitation was confirmed by the Spaniard on Monday.
"Hello to all the participants of the Tomas Cup. If you are the very best, the winners will be welcome for a week at my academy in Mallorca," Nadal said in a video posted by event organizers.
A short while later, the winners were announced to the public via Instagram. It should be noted that the Tomas Cup was held in partnership with French sports equipment company Babolat. In addition to being the official racquet sponsor of the World No. 3, Babolat endorses many top players like Dominic Thiem, Carlos Alcaraz and Garbine Muguruza.
"For the past 4 days, more than 450 juniors players, divided into 5 age groups, have participated in the Tomas Cup in Tokyo. The winner of each category (except U10) won a trophy and a week of training at the prestigious [Rafa Nadal Academy]," the caption read. "The event was organized by Babolat Japan and Edion Japan Junior Tennis Tour."
Rafael Nadal is expected to be out of action for 4-6 weeks
Rafael Nadal's incredible 2022 season turned sour in the space of a few days. After losing the final of the Indian Wells Masters against Taylor Fritz to snap his 20-match winning streak, the Mallorcan was hit with the news that he had sustained a rib fracture.
The injury is expected to sideline him for 4-6 weeks, forcing him to miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and potentially the Barcelona Open.
Monte Carlo update:
OUT: Nadal
IN: Paire
Next: Griekspoor
But the tournament director of the Barcelona Open, David Ferrer, stated in a recent interview that he expects to see the Spaniard defend his title.
ATP Barcelona's Director and former World No.3 David Ferrer is confident that Rafael Nadal has time to recover and will play the event 🔥
Do you think Rafael Nadal will be there to win the Barcelona Open title for the 13th time? 🤔
#RafaelNadal #Barcelona #Tennis #DavidFerrer https://t.co/o2u5gP1yWe
If Nadal does indeed recover in time for the ATP 500 event, he will be looking to win a record-extending 13th title in the Spanish city.