By Adegboyega Adeleye Former world No. 1 Andy Murray is set to face Rafael Nadal for the first time in 10 years when the tennis legends meet at the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam in Mallorca on October 3. The event will mark the 10th anniversary of Nadal’s tennis academy in Manacor, with Murray and Nadal serving as captains of Team Murray and Team Rafa respectively.
Nadal personally invited Murray to the event in a video posted on social media, telling the Scot he hoped they could bring some of their friends together for a team competition. “I know you’ve been practising a lot, almost like a professional. I can’t practise as much as you, but I think I can still be competitive,” Nadal said.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, will make his third visit to the academy, having first visited in 2016 for a training session before returning in 2019 to compete at the Rafa Nadal Open. The reunion will be their first meeting on court since the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open semi-final, which came more than a decade ago. The remaining members of Team Rafa and Team Murray are yet to be announced.
The match-up is part of the Rafa Nadal Academy Slam, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Spaniard’s centre of excellence in Mallorca.