{"id":529134,"date":"2025-10-26T12:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/529134\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T12:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T12:35:12","slug":"exclusive-tennis-legend-rafael-nadal-serving-hope-and-inspiration-to-hong-kongs-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/529134\/","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive | Tennis legend Rafael Nadal serving hope and inspiration to Hong Kong\u2019s youth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Rafael Nadal could easily have chosen a quiet life after one of the greatest sporting careers the world has ever known, leaving his grand slams and inspiration to the next generation as his legacy.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">But a gentle retirement was never likely to be the Spaniard\u2019s way, with a range of business interests, tennis academies and a foundation bearing his name, his second act may, in its own way, prove even more influential than the first.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">There are, as Nadal told the Post in an exclusive interview, \u201cplenty of projects, plenty of things to do\u201d, coupled with a drive to create opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">In the city for the first time last week, Nadal already has an established relationship in Hong Kong with his tennis academy in Sai Kung. A gala ball this weekend marked the start of his foundation\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cI achieved my dream because I had the opportunity to achieve my dream,\u201d Nadal said. \u201cBecause I was born in a good family and they were able to give me the right education, the right bases and platform to develop myself.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Tennis legend Rafa Nadal has partnered with Hong Kong-based WEMP Foundation, which focuses on youth mental wellness. Photo: Eugene Lee\" data-qa=\"BaseImage-handleRenderImage-StyledImage\" class=\"e1gf69pb2 css-6ikqhs e445x7d0\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5361ed39-d8a3-4ad4-a4b4-3c55db396d34_3e7874db.jpg\" title=\"Tennis legend Rafa Nadal has partnered with Hong Kong-based WEMP Foundation, which focuses on youth mental wellness. Photo: Eugene Lee\"\/>Tennis legend Rafa Nadal has partnered with Hong Kong-based WEMP Foundation, which focuses on youth mental wellness. Photo: Eugene Lee<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">\u201cSo, we [his foundation] have the goal to try to create places where the kids can see a different world. We try to take them out from the street, from this negative atmosphere. Bring them to a positive atmosphere, with a healthy community, with teachers, with all the kids, and through sport and education we believe we can change futures.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal could easily have chosen a quiet life after one of the greatest sporting careers the world&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[171530,3749,2839,9808,171531,86388,171533,171528,4296,79,1068,171529,16,15,171532],"class_list":{"0":"post-529134","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-dr-adrian-cheng-chi-kong","9":"tag-hong-kong","10":"tag-mallorca","11":"tag-mental-disorder","12":"tag-mental-health-issue","13":"tag-nadal","14":"tag-nadals-base","15":"tag-olympic-gold","16":"tag-rafael-nadal","17":"tag-sports","18":"tag-tennis","19":"tag-tennis-academies","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-wemp-foundation"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115440499831661227","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}