Ferrero Tennis Academy
Tennis club and academy in Villena, Alicante, Spain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ferrero Tennis Academy is a tennis academy and training center in Villena, Alicante, Spain. It hosts the Villena Open on the ATP Challenger Tour.[1][2]
| |
 Aerial view of the Ferrero Tennis Academy | |
 | |
| Formation | 1990 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Antonio Martínez Cascales |
| Purpose | Sport |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 38.6677°N 0.9060°W |
Director | Juan Carlos Ferrero |
| Website | ferreroacademy |
History
The academy was founded in 1990 by Antonio Martínez Cascales, the future coach of Juan Carlos Ferrero.[3] Originally named the Equelite Academy, its name was later changed to the JC Ferrero Equelite Academy in honor of Ferrero, and shortened to the Ferrero Tennis Academy for simplification purposes.[4][5] It currently houses 20 courts.[6]
In 2018, the academy held the inaugural JC Ferrero Challenger Open, the first Challenger tournament to be held in Alicante since 1996.[7] In July 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the academy held an exhibition tournament featuring Pablo Carreño Busta, Alex de Minaur, João Sousa, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.[8] In 2023, its center court was named after Alcaraz, a longtime student of Ferrero and the academy.[9]
Notable people
Players
- Carlos Alcaraz[10]
- Nicolás Almagro[11]
- Darwin Blanch[12]
- Ulises Blanch[13]
- Pablo Carreño Busta[14]
- David Ferrer[15]
- Mariusz Fyrstenberg[16]
- Carlos Gimeno Valero[17]
- Nicola Kuhn[18]
- Alejandro Manzanera Pertusa[19]
- María José Martínez Sánchez[20]
- Emilio Nava[21]
- Santiago Ventura Bertomeu[22]
- María Teresa Torró Flor[23]
- Mario Vilella Martínez[24][25]
- James Ward[26]
- Bu Yunchaokete[27]
