rename Rafa Nadal y su esposa, Mery Perello© @rafaelnadal

Rafa Nadal and Mery Perelló are celebrating their third wedding anniversary

Although the date is pretty special, Nadal is also celebrating another milestone


Senior Writer
OCTOBER 19, 2022 3:14 PM EDT

Rafa Nadal and Mery Perelló are celebrating their third wedding anniversary on October 19. Their wedding took place in Sa Fortaleza, a castle from the 17th century and was attended by the former King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, the Spanish tennis legend Carlos Moyá, and more. Although the date is pretty special, Nadal is also celebrating the sixth birthday of The Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar.

The 22 Grand Slams winner’s project is a high-performance tennis center located in Manacor. The athlete and first-time dad opened the academy in 2016. To date, the center has 45 tennis courts, 17 paddle courts, three swimming pools, and a medical center with spaces for physical preparation, physiotherapy, psychology, nutrition, and sports medicine.

The academy has become a great success not only for the expansion of its facilities but its player’s performance and the training of its students. The technical team is led by Toni Nadal, Rafa’s former coach and uncle.

TENNIS ESP NADAL ACADEMY© GettyImages
Spain’s Rafael Nadal speaks during the graduation ceremony of the sixth promotion of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, on the Balearic Island of Mallorca, on June 8, 2022.

Rafa and Mary also welcomed a baby boy recently.  HOLA!   confirmed in mid-June that they would be parents, and a few days later, the tennis player spoke about this good news. “I don’t know how life changes because I don’t have experience, but I don’t expect this to mean a change in my professional life,” he assured.

Perelló gave birth to Rafa on October 8. According to Nadal, the experince has been nothing short of joyful. “Hello everyone. After a few days and a lot of loving messages, I wanted to thank you all. We’re very happy and we’re all doing well. I send you all a big hug,” he wrote on Twitter.