{"id":2762,"date":"2011-03-22T18:20:13","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T17:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/taylorwimpeyspain.com\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2017-02-23T14:48:00","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T14:48:00","slug":"anyone-for-tennis-yes-please-says-mallorca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taylorwimpeyspain.com\/blog\/anyone-for-tennis-yes-please-says-mallorca\/","title":{"rendered":"Anyone for tennis? – Yes please says Mallorca"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you think of Mallorca you might not immediately think\u00a0tennis.\u00a0\u00a0But, this small Balearic Islands boasts an impressive history of cultivating championship\u00a0tennis\u00a0stars.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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First ‘created’ by the monks of Europe,\u00a0tenniswas played widely throughout monasteries often as part of religious ceremonies.\u00a0\u00a0The French aristocracy then adopted the game and it became known as Royal (real)\u00a0tennis.\u00a0\u00a0It was not long before the game spread and became very popular, especially in Spain.<\/p>\n

Mallorca’s most notable\u00a0tennis\u00a0export is the world’s current number 1 (ranked by the Association of\u00a0Tennis\u00a0Professionals, ATP) – Rafael Nadal.\u00a0\u00a0However Nadal was not the firsttennis\u00a0icon to come from this Mediterranean island; that accolade really should go to lesser-known Carlos Moy\u00e1.<\/p>\n

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Born in 1976, Moy\u00e1 played\u00a0tennis\u00a0from an early age and became the prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Alberto Tous – a\u00a0tennis\u00a0star in his own right in the 60’s.\u00a0\u00a0During his teens Moy\u00e1 had no rivals in the Balearics and moved to Barcelona to improve his game.\u00a0\u00a0In 1999 Moy\u00e1 reached the pinnacle of World No 1 but was swiftly overtaken by the accomplished Pete Sampras.\u00a0Despite this he has since then continued to compete at the highest levels, winning over 500 ATP matches.<\/p>\n

Tennis\u00a0star, Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal was born in Mallorca in 1986 and he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.\u00a0\u00a0His masterful success of playing on clay courts has earned him the impressive title of ‘The King of Clay’!<\/p>\n

Nadal is not the only sports star in his family.\u00a0\u00a0His uncles include a retired professional footballer and a former professional\u00a0tennis\u00a0player, Toni Nadal, who introduced Rafa to the game at the grand age of 3!\u00a0\u00a0He has been coaching him ever since.<\/p>\n

When Nadal reached turned 14 the Spanish\u00a0Tennis\u00a0Federation requested that he left Mallorca, as Moy\u00e1 had done.\u00a0\u00a0However, Nadal’s family did not accept the offer believing strongly that if you were going to be an exceptional sports person then you should be able to fulfil your dream from any location.<\/p>\n

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By the tender age of 17, Rafa was ranked in the world’s top 50 players.\u00a0\u00a0His incredible success story culminated in August 2008 when he became ranked as No1\u00a0tennis\u00a0player in the world and he has continued to be in the top two ever since.<\/p>\n

Javier Ballester, the Managing Director of\u00a0Taylor Wimpey\u00a0de Espa\u00f1a spoke of the current passion for\u00a0tennis\u00a0in Mallorca,<\/p>\n

“There are many\u00a0tennis\u00a0stars that come to Mallorca to train.\u00a0\u00a0It is not unusual to hear that Bjorn Borg, Steffi Graff, Ana\u00a0Ivanovic\u00a0are on the island brushing up their skills. The prestigious\u00a0Tennis\u00a0Academy attracts people from all over the world giving them the finest coaching and allowing them to enjoy all the wonderful features of Mallorca.”<\/p>\n

A major development in Mallorca, is that\u00a0tennis\u00a0star Raphael Nadal, with the collaboration of the City of Manacor & the Consell de Mallorca, is to create an international\u00a0tennis\u00a0centre in his home town of Manacor. The construction is expected to begin at the end of the summer 2011 and will be entirely funded by Nadal.<\/p>\n

The facility will include 25\u00a0tennis\u00a0courts, a football ground, swimming pool, medical centre and accommodation for 100 athletes.\u00a0\u00a0A project like this is fabulous news for Mallorca, and does a great deal for heightening the profile of the island.\u00a0\u00a0It is anticipated that this centre will attract a variety of sports people who want to do some serious training.<\/p>\n

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April 18th<\/sup> sees the start of the Spanish Open in Barcelona and with prize money of \u20ac1,550,000 up for grabs the heat will be on.\u00a0\u00a0International\u00a0tennis\u00a0stars will be arriving in Spain to vie for their place in the 59th edition of the Barcelona Open.\u00a0\u00a0The ATP world tour is one of the most important events in Spanish\u00a0tennis\u00a0and of course for the Barcelona social calendar.\u00a0\u00a0Mallorca’s Nadal will be playing this year and hoping to put up a good fight against the defending champ Fernando Verdasco.<\/p>\n