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Repton School Dubai Announces Remarkable Partnership with the Number One Tennis Academy in the World

by Eddie Rayner

Repton School Dubai is proud to announce its partnership with Spanish five-time Grand Slam winner, Emilio Ángel Sánchez Vicario, to launch the prestigious Emilio Sanchez Academy in the UAE. The number one tennis academy in the world will establish its presence in the Middle East at Repton Dubai, focusing on athletic and academic development. The expansive new academy, located at Repton School Dubai’s Nad Al Sheba campus, will consist of 11 state-of-the-art tennis courts, including a Centre Court, three padel tennis courts, and a multidisciplinary clinic.

Set to launch at Repton Dubai in January 2022, the Emilio Sanchez Academy will strive to develop the whole child both academically and athletically, through focusing on enhancing students’ gross motor, mental and physical skills. Built on the values of Respect, Effort and Discipline, the highly acclaimed tennis academy, encapsulates a unique high-performance pyramid training system based on four pillars including Technical, Tactical, Physical and Mental. The system places equal importance on athletic and academic development to ensure students achieve their highest performance and competitive state. This proven model has consistently allowed young athletes to avail tennis scholarships from across sought-after universities globally.

Reptonians will have exclusive access during the school day to participate in the academy’s Elite Programme while the after-school programme will be open to the wider UAE community. Reptonians will also be treated to insights and advice from professional players, seasonal boot camps and year-round coaching. The unique academy will feature a boarding facility at Repton Dubai and worldwide members of the academy will have access to all aspects of the Emilio Sanchez Academy at Repton Dubai.


The tennis academy will feature 11 state-of-the-art tennis courts, including a professional sized Centre Court and a multidisciplinary clinic


David Cook, Headmaster of Repton Dubai and Chief Education Officer of the Repton Family of Schools in the UAE say: “Our diverse curriculum encapsulates the development of the whole child across three arenas: Academic, Creative and Sport. The partnership with the Emilio Sanchez Academy will support us in enhancing our vision to formulate students to the best of their abilities and we are excited to introduce the Middle East to the world-renowned academy.”

Open to all ages from Early Years Foundation Stage to Post-16, the state-of-the-art academy strives to add further value through a multidisciplinary clinic that will house a team of highly trained doctors, nutritionists, physiotherapists and chiropractors. The clinic will focus on enhancing player performances, by specialising in the treatment of amateur and professional athletes, as well as the general population; providing preventive care and injury rehabilitation to the future tennis champions.


Students will be introduced to the exciting and dynamic game of padel tennis, through three state of the art padel tennis courts.


The coaching staff will consist of expert professionals trained under the Emilio Sanchez training programme. Furthermore, the main Centre Court will comprise a full-sized 40×20 metre tennis court with stadium seating capacity, enabling the academy to host prestigious tournaments such as the Association of Professional Tennis (ATP) Tour at the Nad Al Sheba campus.

To further enhance player growth and performance, the academy has invested in innovative technologies such as biomechanics, which uses cameras and sensors to analyse and monitor the optimum way to hold the tennis racket, shoulder angles, wrist rotation and player stance while playing. The academy has enlisted the services of GreenSet, renowned for its top-quality, non-slip and durable surfaces for tennis courts, suitable for all types of players and game styles. GreenSet’s innovative and sustainable tennis courts have been featured in highly acclaimed Grand Slam tournaments in the Australian Open and it is also the official supplier for the ATP Finals. The leading world expert in tennis surfaces will also incorporate its Cushion System in the region, incorporating three levels of cushioning into the substructure of the tennis courts at Repton Dubai.


Biomechanics and innovative technologies will be incorporated to enhance students’ athletic development


The first-of-its-kind system in the region uses extremely low volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the build to ensure complete uniformity on the surface layers and incorporates the use of lasers to create the perfect speed and bounce during a match. In addition, the centre court will incorporate the use of 800 Lux of illuminating lights that ensure absolute visibility during matches and are ideal for televised tournaments.

“Our mission is to create opportunities through tennis and education. We’re so glad to partner with Repton Dubai for this project, and we’re sure it will be a huge success. We will deliver our system of training and expertise to support the student-athletes to achieve the best competitive version of themselves, and Repton Dubai will do the same from an educational standpoint. The Middle East has yet to witness a comprehensive programme like ours, and I’m sure that this partnership will make a huge difference on the journeys of our children,” concludes Emilio Sanchez, Founder and CEO of the Emilio Sanchez Tennis Academy.

Initially launched in 1998 and formerly known as Academia Sanchez-Casal, the Emilio Sanchez Academy is recognised as the number one tennis academy in the world, with branches in Barcelona (Spain), Nanjing (China), Naples, Florida (USA) and Atlanta (USA). The academy has a long-standing pedigree in developing elite world tennis champions and some of the notable academy graduates include three-time Grand Slam winner Sir Andy Murray, the US Open and Garros Champion Sveta Kuznetsova, WTA Champion Daniela Hantuchova, former ATP singles world tennis number three Grigor Dimitrov and former world tennis number 10, Juan Monáco.

For further information on the partnership, please visit Repton Dubai’s website: www.reptondubai.org. For further information on the Emilio Sanchez Academy, please visit: www.emiliosanchezacademy.com