Rafael Nadal trains with Emil Ruusuvuori at Academy

Following another successful season that saw him winning a Major title, Rafael Nadal is back on the practice court, starting preparations for the 2021 campaign at his Academy in Mallorca.

Last week, Rafa worked with the six-time ATP finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime, gathering more players at his Academy and sharing the court with the Finnish young gun Emil Ruusuvuori on Friday. In December 2019, Ruusuvuori was Nadal's guest at the Academy after winning the Challenger title there a few months earlier, gathering experience from the 20-time Major champion that helped him a lot during the 2020 season.

The Helsinki native conquered two Futures and no less than four Challenger crowns in 2019, gaining almost 300 positions on the ATP list and earning a great starting position ahead of 2020. Emil kicked off the previous season with a Challenger final, competing on the ATP level before the coronavirus outbreak and scoring one victory in Montpellier.

When the season restarted in August, Emil earned victories on the big scene in New York to find himself in the top-100, reaching the first ATP semi-final in Nur-Sultan at the end of October and hoping for more in 2021. After a couple of weeks off, Rafael Nadal is back on the practice court, increasing his training pace and planning to travel to Melbourne in mid-January.