Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi is one of the most promising prospects in Indian tennis, and she is continuing her professional journey upwards by starting her training at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca.
The Hindustan Times reported that coaches and developmental staff at the academy regard the 15-year-old prodigy very highly.
The new outlet added that tennis legend Rafael Nadal himself was present and spotted attending one of her training sessions at the grounds of his academy.
The Academy’s official Instagram account posted a series of photos of Nadal watching one of Maaya’s sessions, captioning the post: “A very special spectator. @rafaelnadal didn’t miss any detail of the training of @maayarajesh.09, who with only 15 years old reached last month the semifinals of a WTA tournament.”
Nadal can be seen standing with some others and watching with full intensity.
“It’s one of my most favourite memories,” Mayaa said. “Even a man that’s won so much, he’s still got that hunger, and that’s really impressive.”
Maaya, who hails from Coimbatore, was granted a qualifying wildcard spot for the WTA 125 event hosted at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai earlier this month.
It was a dream run through qualification rounds and into the semi-final of the main draw for the youngster, who showed off all her promise in her best result at any of her five professional events so far.
Nadal’s own personal handle reacted to the Instagram post with an eyes emoji, signalling his own interest in the Indian player.
Nadal retired from tennis at the Davis Cup late last year, bringing an end to his long and fabled career. The Spaniard will focus on time with his family at his home in Mallorca, where he will also be able to commit more time to younger players at his academy.
Maaya is set to spend a year at the academy, having received a 100 per cent scholarship which indicates its belief in her game and progress.
She said: “They have an extremely professional environment and that’s the biggest plus point.
“There are some exceptionally talented athletes and coaches here. Playing against some of the finest talents and working with some top coaches at the very start of my career is a massive plus point.
Maaya added that she had a brief chat with Nadal. “When he visited the academy and spent time with the kids, I was out competing. I met him last week for a short while and he congratulated me on my Mumbai performance and asked me how my training was going on. It was short but very sweet.”
