Legendary coach Nadal to attend Lexus Tennis Festival

AMMAN — Tennis enthusiasts once again have a week of action packed activity with the Tennis Academy Amman hosting its third annual Lexus Tennis Festival.

Held in collaboration with Markazia Lexus and continuing until September 22 , the 2017 Lexus Tennis Festival’s highlight will be hosting Toni Nadal, legendary coach, uncle and mentor of World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who will be attending the Family Tennis Day on Friday.

The festival which started over the weekend will include local tournaments which will last throughout the week. The Amman Masters tournament begins September 19 with the final match taking place at 3pm on Friday. 

The Tennis Academy Amman was established with a mission to build champions both on and off the court, with the firm belief that tennis builds character, teaches perseverance, and has the power to mould a whole new generation of athletes the Kingdom and the region can be proud of.

“It is with this understanding and the continued support of our partners and sponsors, we have worked to build long-lasting partnerships with the best coaches, academies and players in the world so that when the time comes, we can lean on their wealth of expertise to take our players to the highest levels of the game,” said Tennis Academy founder and Director Khalid Naffa.

“In that spirit, we are thrilled to welcome Mr Nadal, the most successful coach in the history of Tennis, to Jordan, to the academy, and to the festival!” Jordan’s former top ranked player Naffa added.

In his first visit to the Kingdom, Nadal will be the Guest of Honour during the 8-day Tennis Festival, which will feature local tournaments open to all age groups, the Amman Masters tournament featuring for the first time, internationally ranked female players, and a Family Tennis Day.

Born in Mallorca, Spain, Antonio Nadal Homar, is considered the most successful tennis coach in terms of Grand Slam titles in the history of the game. Better known as “Uncle Toni” by tennis lovers worldwide, he has earned a total of 16 Grand slams with his nephew Rafael, including 10 French Open titles, 3 US Open, 2 Wimbledon and 1 Australian Open title. Their partnership has lasted 27 years, one of the longest and most successful coach-player duos in sports history.

“After meeting in Mallorca part of the enthusiastic team from the Tennis Academy Amman I am looking forward to being a guest at the Lexus Tennis Festival,” Nadal said ahead of his arrival in Jordan. “I have always loved working with young players and so I will love to share with them all that I can, not only my knowledge and experience, but also my love and passion for this sport. I am really excited about it,” he added.

Last year, the guest of honour was Moroccan Karim Alami, who retired in 2002. As a junior, he reached World No.2 in singles and World No.1 in doubles.

In 2015, the festival featured an exhibition match between top international players former world #13 Jarkko Nieminen and Tunisian tennis star Malek Jaziri, as well as a Family Tennis Day with legendary and multiple Grand Slam Champion Mary Pierce. The French champion, is a winner of four Grand Slam titles, including the 1995 Singles Australian Open, the 2000 Singles French Open, the 2000 doubles French Open, and the 2005 mixed doubles Wimbledon title.