Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic have shown their interest in the Racquets Club of Marbella, a tennis club located in the Andalusian city and owned by Manolo Santana. The death of the Spanish tennis legend last December leaves the future of this prestigious club in suspense, although the interest of both the Spaniard and the Serbian, if one finally becomes with him, could return all the prominence to a venue that two Decades ago it was one of the best facilities for racket sports in Spain.
In less than a month, Marbella will attract all eyes with the qualifying tie for the Davis Cup finals between Spain and Romania. An appointment that will be held on March 4 and 5 at the Puente Romano tennis facilities, a venue chosen precisely as a tribute to Manolo Santana, who died on December 11. The Spanish team captained by Sergi Bruguera will attend there and has summoned Pablo Carreño, Roberto Bautista, Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich and Marcel Granollers to try to put Spain in the 2022 Davis Cup finals.
Little by little, the atmosphere prior to a Davis Cup tie is beginning to breathe, but these days in Marbella the attention is on the Racquets Club de Marbella , the prestigious tennis club created by Manolo Santana in 1997. The death of The Spanish tennis legend leaves the future of the club up in the air, which has a municipal license until 2026, at which time it will once again be put out to public tender so that other companies can also present their projects.
The sports complex is located on Marbella’s Loma de Oro, surrounded by palaces owned by the King of Saudi Arabia, the Haucel, Honehole or Von Bismarck, among others. In addition, it offers all kinds of services, not only tennis is the protagonist but other sports such as paddle tennis or swimming can be practiced, as well as having a restaurant area and shops where you can buy tennis clothes, rackets, etc.
Nadal and Djokovic have tested the ground
Novak Djokovic is a regular in Marbella. The Serbian tennis player has used the Puente Romano sports facilities on several occasions to train, in fact, it was one of his last trips to the Costa del Sol that caused him certain problems upon his arrival in Australia, after the tennis player forgot to communicate who had traveled from Serbia to Spain before heading to Melbourne. His brother Marco, who lives in the city, works daily at these facilities in the city of Marbella, who, together with Pepe Imaz, teaches tennis classes under the motto of “Love and Peace”, a philosophy with which they try to get children to face sport in a more spiritual way.
According to Vanitatis , Novak Djokovic would be interested in the Marbella Racquet Club. In fact, the Serbian would be considering converting his home in Sierra Blanca, La Perla, into his second home, this and the fact that his brother is already based in the city of Malaga would make them serious candidates to apply for the municipal concession of the sports facilities.
The one from Belgrade would not be the only one interested, Rafa Nadal is also emerging as a candidate, who has always had a very special connection with Manolo Santana and who apparently was already testing the ground in Marbella last November, with the idea of expand your project with a new tennis training center. The Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor is achieving great results, in facilities that have 19 fast tennis courts and seven clay courts, as well as paddle tennis courts, squash courts, a soccer field, swimming pools and a fitness center and in which More than 150 students and future tennis stars are trained daily.
In fact, Nadal has already invested in the Costa del Sol . The 21-time Grand Slam winner acquired in 2019 with the Mabel Casa del Mar group an area of luxury homes on the beachfront, in one of the most sought-after and expensive spaces in Estepona.
The excellent location of the Marbella Racquet Club means that there are many who are interested in it. Although, there is some uncertainty among the members to see what the future of the club is now that Manolo Santana is not there.
