In an emotional ceremony, a total of 52 young students graduated from the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar, bringing an end to their academic and tennis education on the campus in Manacor. As is now tradition, Rafa Nadal presided the ceremony and spoke to the families, the teachers and the young students with an inspiring message. Ex-world number 1, 1998 French Open champion and winner of 20 ATP titles Carlos Moyà was the guest speaker at event that is very special for the young tennis players, following in the footsteps of Pau Gasol, David Ferrer, Ona Carbonell, Ricky Rubio and Iga Swiatek who have all joined Rafa at an graduation ceremonies in recent years (Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova did so remotely in 2020).
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00:001, 2, 3, smile!
00:17Good afternoon, everyone.
00:22Well, first of all, I want to address the families who are joining us on such a special day for your children.
00:32It is true that I always say the same thing, but without you none of this would make any sense.
00:39Following your example, more than a school or an academy, we have tried during all this time to be the second family of your children.
00:49We hope we have achieved it.
00:53We are deeply grateful for the trust you have placed in us, trusting the education of your loved ones.
01:03We hope we have done a good job with all of them and that at the end of this beautiful stage they have become great people.
01:13The next thing I would like to do is to say a few words to the teachers and all the staff of the school.
01:21Congratulations for your hard work and your commitment with the students who are graduating today.
01:28Thanks also to the administration, maintenance, kitchen and cleaning staff who make everything run smoothly.
01:36Thanks also to the tennis coaches, physios, doctors and the team that makes it possible for our students to go to American universities to combine their studies with tennis.
01:50And finally, I would like to say a few words to the most important person today, the students who are graduating.
01:59Congratulations, because today you end a very important cycle in your lives and you begin another very exciting stage.
02:11A few months ago I had the opportunity to visit the Italian Dolomites with a good friend and rival, Roger Federer.
02:24And there, in the mountains, we had an interesting conversation about a word that I think is very important, the legacy.
02:34Both Roger and I agreed on something that seemed extremely important to us.
02:40How do we want to be remembered in a few years?
02:44How do we want future generations to see us?
02:48And we both had a very clear answer.
02:52Yes, it is very good that they recognize our successes, our titles and our records.
02:59But that, after all, is something temporary, since throughout history it is likely that others will come and surpass them, as it should be.
03:08The important thing is what remains forever in memory.
03:11And that is why both Roger and I agree that we would like to be remembered as good people.
03:17We live in a society that highlights the what and the now above all.
03:23But I want to underline the importance of how.
03:27You are now starting a new sporting and academic stage.
03:32And it is key that you analyze what you want to be and have clear the values in which you want to be inspired.
03:42I am very happy to have Carlos Moyá with me today at the graduation.
03:49And I want to thank him for being with us today.
03:53Carlos was a reference for me when I was a child.
03:57A person to look up to.
03:59Being from Mallorca, it was an inspiration to see how Carlos became the first ever number one in the history of our sport.
04:07In Spain, of course.
04:08But beyond tennis, for me, the most important thing has been the human side.
04:14That's why I was very happy that many years later he agreed to join us as part of our technical staff.
04:22As a coach, he had to be strong enough, to be honest, to demand from me and tell me things sometimes that he knew I might not like.
04:32Those people who tell you things that help you improve are the ones who really love you.
04:38The ones who really care about you.
04:41I hope you will take away many positive messages from the academy that will help you leave a mark and a positive legacy in society.
04:51When you are at the university or at the tennis courts, repeat to yourself from time to time,
04:58how I would like to be remembered by my classmates, by my teachers, by my friends.
05:04Now that the word is very fashionable, I could tell you to try to be influencers in your environment.
05:13But I like the term referents more.
05:16That the people who are by your side see you as someone to imitate for your values.
05:21And there is no need to set long-term goals.
05:24Every day is important.
05:26Make every day count in your lives.
05:29Now that we are in the Olympic year, I always like to remember the phrase that sums up the DNA of the Games.
05:35Faster, taller, stronger.
05:38If you set yourself a goal, you can always achieve more.
05:42You can always go further.
05:43This does not mean at all that we are all going to achieve incredible goals.
05:50The important thing is that you are the best version of yourself.
05:54I don't want to extend myself more.
05:56I just want to congratulate you all again.
06:00Many congratulations.
06:02And I want to pass the word and give you a big round of applause.
06:10Good afternoon everyone.
06:11Good afternoon everyone.
06:13It is an honor for me to be here today at this graduation party.
06:20Obviously, the first thing is to congratulate those who are graduating today.
06:25You have gone through many years of ups and downs, problems, difficulties.
06:30But I think this moment is worth it.
06:33So congratulations and I am very happy for you.
06:36I would also like to congratulate all the coaches, the teachers and the team from the academy that have been part of these years with them.
06:46All these people, they helped to develop them as human beings and they have been very special to them.
06:55I would like to have a special mention also to the families, the parents.
07:00I am a father of three and I can't imagine a few years back when you had to send your kids away from home, thousands of miles away.
07:09It must be painful, but now it's paying off and they deserve to be here today.
07:14So without you, that would not be possible.
07:16Congratulations also.
07:20I address you again, students.
07:23From now on, a new path will open for you where you will have to fly alone.
07:26Some of you are already older and others will be soon, but you are ready to go out there.
07:35I hope that these years you have not only studied, or played tennis, or had fun, but that you have observed a little around you.
07:47Because you will hardly have a better model, a better mirror than Rafa Nadal and his values.
07:53When we talk about his values, we talk about perseverance, resilience, work ethic, getting up after falling and humility.
08:04We can talk about many more, but for me, the one that has more merit is respect, with capital letters.
08:12When I started working with Rafa, almost 8 years ago, I would not say concern, but curiosity was where my relationship with him was going to go.
08:26To put you a little in perspective, when he was 11 years old we met, I took him 10 years.
08:34So every time I say a figure of his, I add 10, which is the age I take him.
08:39At 14 we started training in an assiduous way, at 16 he beat me for the first time, I knew it was not going to be the last.
08:49Speaking of respect, I think that was the time you did not respect me, beating me being a kid, but hey, I accepted it.
08:58We have lived countless situations together, both inside and off the court, the relationship was evolving, we were rivals, we were teammates.
09:06We won the Ibis Cup together, not just him and me, but we were on the same team.
09:12That Ibis Cup for me emotionally meant one of the best moments of my life.
09:17And the fact that he was by my side made it even more special.
09:23But my role changed, after that we started working together.
09:28What does it mean to work together? He has mentioned it a little earlier.
09:32We talked about demands, telling him things I might not want to hear, trying to convince him of things that might be new for him.
09:44You travel, there is wear and tear, you spend many hours together, different opinions, there are defeats, injuries, bad moments.
09:52Heart at 180, 200 beats, a Grand Slam final.
09:56I have to say that at no time did I lack respect for myself, the team, his family or anyone around him.
10:04This is something that, well, if you watch sports on TV, I'm not just talking about tennis, but any sport, you will realize that this is very difficult to see today.
10:13And the respect he has had for everyone who has been around him is incredible.
10:17So this is, for me, one of the greatest values he has.
10:25The values we have talked about are not only valid for the track, but for real life.
10:32You are going to get out of this bubble you have been in these years.
10:36And friends, the real life that awaits you is competition as well.
10:41All these values that you have learned here, all the tools they have given you, will help you.
10:48Whether you play tennis, whether you want to be the best architects, the best engineers, whatever you want to be, they will help you.
10:56You are more than ready to be what you want to be.
11:01Throughout my career, I managed to achieve very important goals.
11:05Goals that I couldn't even imagine when I was a kid, even when I was their age.
11:11Of course, the easy thing is to watch players winning trophies, watch them on TV.
11:17But what nobody sees is what's behind there.
11:20And it's all the work that you have to do every day.
11:23Days when you don't feel like going to practice, like going to the gym, like studying.
11:29If you push yourself in those moments, these are the moments that are paying off.
11:32These are the moments that, if you do it, are going to take you to the next level and are going to help you to grow in whatever you want to do.
11:40So pay attention to those moments, push yourself.
11:44For some of you, the goals will be on the tennis courts, and for others, they will be in the university classrooms.
11:51Dream with big goals and be demanding with yourselves.
11:56Don't set barriers or limits.
11:58Life and circumstances will take care of themselves.
12:02Whether or not you achieve your goals in the short or long term,
12:06you must keep in mind that a very important part is the path you take to reach them.
12:11Every day counts and every day is key to achieve all your dreams.
12:16I wish you the best in the future.
12:19I'm not very good at giving advice.
12:22Maybe if I could give one to my self,
12:25maybe if I could give one to my self, 30 years ago,
12:30which is the age you are now,
12:33I would tell you to surround yourself with good people,
12:37positive people, people who love you,
12:40who will give you the best advice,
12:42who will help you in the bad times,
12:44who will put their shoulder through the difficulties you are going to have all these years.
12:49On the contrary, stay away from toxic people.
12:53They are going to want the worst for you,
12:56they are going to be jealous,
12:58they are not going to love you well.
13:00They are going to grab you and pull you down whenever you want to take off.
13:03Be happy, fly free.
13:06I wish you the best, have a great time.
13:09It has been an honor for me to be with you today
13:11and I wish you a great party tonight, which I'm sure you have prepared.
13:15A hug and thank you.
13:23Thank you.