Spain is known for its professional tennis players, like Rafael Nadal whom we dedicated our latest news entry and it is even more known as a major tennis mecca around the world because it is home to some of the best tennis schools. Spain’s fantastic year-round weather allows players to practice outdoors for most of the year in beautiful destinations such as Marbella, Mallorca or Barcelona and Spain is the best choice for those players who want to combine a professional tennis training with a dream-like holiday. This blog post is about the two best tennis training camps for young and adult players and we at Across Spain offers packages for booth of them:

Rafa Nadal Academy, 55 km from Palma de Mallorca

Rafael Nadal is one of the most hyped and recognizable athletes the world of tennis has ever seen. The Spaniard’s name can generally be found on the top of ATP rankings, and he has won titles on a reliable basis since 2004. He is also one of only two male tennis players to have won the career Golden Slam (all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal) during their singles career. In 2016, in his hometown of Mallorca, Nadal established the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, where he aims to share everything he has learnt over his career with young students.

The academy is perfectly located, just 30 minutes from Palma de Mallorca airport, therefore it has an excellent connectivity to all European countries, and is just 10 minutes from the Mediterranean coast. The Rafa Nadal Academy is very focused on children and young adults’ formation, but it also counts with different training programs for adults, all them adapted to the level and needs of each player. The team of the Academy is formed by a group of experienced coaches, directed by Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle. Some of them have accompanied Rafa along his sport career. The team he has always trust is actively involved and has an important role in the Academy.

Nadal’s Sport centre offers a lot of facilities: 26 tennis courts of different surfaces (clay, greenest and more), outdoor as well as indoor, seven padel courts and two squash courts. An on-site clinic, which is specialised in sports medicine, physiotherapy and nutrition can be used by all players. Of course a fitness centre, 3,000 square meters, with the latest equipment is also part of the offer.
To make sure that the holiday aspect does not draw the short straw, the accommodation for Academy guest is on the same ground and offer spacious rooms with modern furniture. After a training session guests can relax in the Spa, equipped with massage cabins, sauna and Turkish baths and and a beauty salon. But not just tennis fans will love this sport centre, two large pools, one indoor the other outside, as well as a bicycle rental and repair service let every athlete’s heart beat faster!

To sum it up, Rafael Nadal’s Academy is for all athletes who want to enjoy a wide range of sports activities adapted to the level of each participant and delivered by the best professionals in the sport-health sector.

Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno, 15km from Barcelona

According to Rafael Nadal, Andres Gimeno “was without a doubt one of the pioneers of tennis in Spain.” Gimeno became the oldest man to win the French Open in the professional era, aged 34 in 1972. He played in the Galea’s Cup, the European Championship U21, and won it in 1956 and 1957 but he was not only a successful tennis player in Spain, he also represented his country throughout Europe.

In 1974 he founded his “Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno” in Castelldefels, Barcelona. It has 23,000 m² consisting of 22 tennis courts, 11 paddle tennis courts, 1 green set court and 2 mini-tennis courts, so everything a professional or amateur player needs. After the tennis training, athletes can burn off the rest of energy in one of the two fitness rooms or in the on-site swimming pool. For the young tennis fans a big playground promises fun afternoons. The chill-out area or the restaurant are good options for an after-competition drink.

This tennis club is perfect for athletes who are looking for a training camp with plenty of facilities close to the metropolitan Barcelona. Our package for the Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno combines the advantages of staying in a suburban and relaxed area, where players can focus on improving their skills and enjoying the Mediterranean Sea, and activates a big city like Barcelona has to offer.

If you are now eager to combine your next holiday with the possibility to bring your serve to the next level, write us a message. We offer also many packages for other kind of sports, passive or active!

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Saint Teresa of Ávila was a Spanish noblewoman who chose a monastic life in the Catholic Church and was a scholar, writer and mystic with a lot of influence during and also after her life. In our latest news, we wrote about her magnificent story and this blog post is about presenting the destinations of our “St. Teresa of Ávila” program, for all who wants to wander in the footsteps of this remarkable woman.

Salamanca

St. Teresa arrived in Salamanca on 31 October 1570 one cold All Saints night, which she narrates in great detail in her book “The Foundations”. Her presence in Salamanca, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988, can be seen from Plaza Mayor square to the University. In the square you can see a medallion dedicated to her. The University of Salamanca made her doctor honoris causa in 1922. It was the first title
the university awarded to a woman for the quality of her literature, spirituality and reformist values. In – nowadays called – “the house of St. Teresa” she lived for 4 years and it will go down in history as the place that inspired her poem “I live without living in me”.

Further interesting hotspots are the Cathedral of Salamanca, where one chapel in the new church is devoted to her or the Convent of San Esteban, he supported St. Teresa in her time in Salamanca.

University of Salamanca

Alba de Tormes

Alba de Tormes is located less than 20 km from Salamanca and it was the seat of the ducal states of the powerful Álvarez de Toledo family (Duke and Duchess of Alba). In 1571 St. Teresa founded a monastery – The Carmelite Convent of the Annunciation – in this old medieval town. The monastery has Renaissance and Neoclassical elements and it is the place where Saint Teresa spent the last 15 days of her life. Travellers can visit her tomb, like thousands of pilgrims, who come every year to be able to pray in front of her incorrupt heart and arm.

The Carmelitano Camus Museum is also worth a visit, because it houses a rich artistic spiritual heritage, including Santa Teresa´s relics. Alba de Tormes offers a unique view of the town on the banks of the river Tormes and invites visitors to walk along the route of las Aceñas or Isla de Garcilaso or take a trip on the river to enjoy the countryside.

Tomb of Saint Teresa

Ávila

Ávila is the city of Saint Teresa and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1985. It is the city of Teresa’s childhood, youth and maturity, years of enthusiasm, projects, starting point and turning point of her foundations. She was born in Avila on the 28th of March in the year 1515. Nowadays travellers can visit the Church and Convent of St. Teresa, which was built on the ground where once the birth-house of Teresa stood. The large vaulted burial crypt underneath is home to the museum of St. Teresa.

Teresa spent her childhood in Ávila and as a young woman she joined the Convent of Nuestra Señora de Gracia. She spent there about 30 years of her life and prepared during this time the reform of the Carmelite community and the monasteries that she would establish in the future.

The Monastery of San José was the first convent founded by St Teresa and it is characterised by its simplicity and austerity. The convent rooms have been conserved and the spirit of St Teresa is still abound. It was designated a National Monument in 1968.

Other monuments of artistic and cultural interest regarding the history of St. Teresa are the Church of San Juan Bautista, the Convent of Our Lady of Grace, the Monastery of La Encarnación, the Royal Monastery of Santo Tomás and many more.

Monastery of San José

Segovia

In this World Heritage City (since 1985), known for its Roman aqueduct, Saint Teresa founded her ninth convent in 1574 – the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites. The opening mass was led by Saint John of the Cross, whose remains can be found today in the convent’s church. It was originally located in a smaller nearby building and later, in 1579, it was moved to its current location. The exterior shows a masonry wall covered in mortar with two doors: one that leads to the convent, with two decorated doorjambs; and another larger door that leads to the church.

Convent of the Discalced Carmelites.

Medina del Campo & Valladolid
St. Teresa founded the Monastery of San José in Medina del Campo, the second home of the reformed Carmelite order and meeting place with San Juan de la Cruz. From that moment, the saint’s relationship with Medina was to be constant, as shown in the thirteen times she visited the town.

In Valladolid you can find the fourth convent founded by Saint Teresa – a convent with exceptional works of art in the cloister and the choirs. In what used to be her cell you can also see the original handwritten text of her main literary work, “The Way of Perfection”, and many of her letters.

If you choose to wander in the footsteps of Saint Teresa with our program, you will travel to all this destinations and a few more to learn everything about Saint Teresa as well as about the Spanish culture. Write us today for your very own blessed experience:   info@across-spain.es

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