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Background:
On 17th October 2010, a visitor from Spain made a quick stopover at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, about 125 miles from Bangalore. It wasn’t just any visitor; it was 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal who flew down to Bangalore and then drove to Anantapur to inaugurate the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy. The ‘King of Clay’ came with a mission: to help under-privileged children by providing them with education through academics and tennis.
With aid from the Rural Development Trust (RDT) an NGO, the academy helps children from Anantapur as well as nearby villages. The academy is a part of the Anantapur sports village which is built on 40 acres of land donated by the RDT.
Tennis, often considered a high-society sport, has been made accessible to children with very low resources. Almost all of the children at the academy have gotten to see and hold a tennis racquet for the first time in their lives. Over the last 4 ½ years,thousands of children have become literate, learnt the sport and grown in confidence. They have inculcated all the values taught by the coaches and teachers.
Nadal ensures the children receive everything
To successfully run such an ambitious project requires high-level and constant funding. This is where the Spanish superstar steps in and provides financial backing. Every year, Nadal’s Tennis Foundation pumps in nearly £40K ~ £50K to help children in the academy become better citizens.
Over 150 children from Anantapur and nearby villages are currently enrolled in the academy. While some drop out with time, there are many who practise daily on the courts. Every child is provided with tennis apparel, socks, shoes, tennis racquets, tennis balls and other education material. Two buses are operated to transport children from nearby schools to the academy. All the coaches and staff at the academy are also funded by Nadal’s Tennis Foundation.
The children are given the best playing conditions, having five clay courts installed with floodlights. These courts are watered, rolled, and lined daily. There is also a 40m 10 ft. tennis wall for children to practise and train.
A water-cooler makes sure that the children are hydrated at all times and are also given a boiled egg and milk for nutrition during play time. Babolat are the main sponsors of the equipment, such as racquets and good quality tennis balls, to bring out the best amongst the children.
Overall development
The academy seeks to bring about overall development of the children, and tennis plays an important role in this. The coaches ensure the children study as well. Computer labs and English classes are conducted every day. The children, previously unaware of what a computer was, now know how to write a letter, create Excel sheets and get information on the internet.
Volunteers from Spain and India are also present to provide nutritional information, dietary assistance, and also to conduct innovative and fun training drills to help children become healthier and learn to enjoy exercising. With two-hour morning and four-hour evening sessions, every one of the 150 children gets ample time to play, learn and exercise at the academy. Various batches of 8-12 children rotate amongst playing on the tennis courts, engaging in fitness workouts, and studying English and computers.
Several players have shown promising signs and have even participated in The All India Tennis Federation (AITA) challenger series tournaments. The children are categorised into three levels based on their abilities: Pre-tennis level (5-6 years), regular (6-13 years) and AITA level (12-18 years-old).
More than just tennis
The Anantapur sports village is famous for Nadal’s Tennis Academy, but there are other top-notch facilities. Along with the tennis courts, the village boasts two hockey fields, a grass football field, and a gymnasium. RDT and Rafael Nadal Foundation have come together for a wonderful humanitarian cause and they hope this progress will only increase in years to come.
Medha and I were welcomed warmly by the tennis fraternity and the children of the academy. They made us feel at home giving us good quality accommodation during our stay and tasty food at their canteen which had European and Indian cuisines. I had several opportunities to interact with the local coach Bachi and other tennis volunteers from Spain. I did group sessions for young children ranging from 6 to 18yrs and Medha assisted in giving match practice to a few students. We also played a lot of doubles with performance players which was great fun. Overall it was a wonderful & humbling experience and I can’t wait to go back for another visit.