For more than 20 years, his name was synonymous with absolute dominance on the world's top courts. But when Rafael Nadal announced his retirement from professional tennis in November 2024, many wondered: what does a "born winner" do when the spotlights of the Grand Slams fade? Away from racquets and training, the legendary Spaniard is now building his own "empire" in tourism and hospitality, capitalizing on the millions from his triumphs with highly strategic moves. From a brand-new jewel of a hotel in the Canary Islands to the 94-million-euro colpo grosso with his academy, Nadal proves he knows how to win off the court as well.
Nadal's new step
Nadal states that he spent most of his tennis career living in hotels. "That's what I did for half of my life and I know what I like best," he told CNBC. Thus, opening his own seemed like a natural progression. The 22-time Grand Slam winner just opened his fourth hotel in the Canary Islands, in Fuerteventura, under his hotel brand Zel Hotels, which was founded in 2022 in partnership with Meliá Hotels International. The brand opened its first hotel, ZEL Mallorca, in 2023. This was followed by hotels in Spain's Costa Brava and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
"I am not the type of person who likes to wake up in the morning and not know what to do, and my goal was to keep moving forward," Nadal stated. "In the same way that I built a legacy on the court, now is the time to build a legacy outside of it." Nadal added that people have started spending more on experiences, making hospitality a growing sector for investment. However, he mentioned that creating a brand was "a challenge at the beginning" because the space is highly competitive.
How sports prepared Nadal for business
Nadal, who won a record 14 titles at Roland Garros (French Open) and two Olympic gold medals, stated that sports taught him "to tolerate frustration, you learn to work as a team, you learn to accept that sometimes you lose, you have to manage victories, because it doesn't matter if you won, you have to play the next day." Nadal described how he spent a year recovering from hip surgery in 2023, without knowing he would have to retire, which he eventually did. "It wasn't easy, but afterwards, when I learned that this was the end for me, it was a change in my life since I had been doing almost the same thing my whole life, but I was prepared for it and I was ready to move on to the next chapter of my life."
The controversy over tennis prize money
Several top tennis players, including Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, ended a protest boycott over prize money last week following talks with the All England Club, the organizers of Wimbledon. Wimbledon increased its prize money by 20% this year, reaching 64.2 million pounds ($85 million), marking the largest annual increase in its history. The players wanted the total prize amount to rise to approximately 71 million pounds, an amount equivalent to about 16% of the tournament's revenue. More generally, top players are pushing for Grand Slams to pay athletes 22% of their revenue by 2030.
Nadal stated that he understands both perspectives but urged players to understand that while they appear and compete, tournament organizers "have to invest all year round to prepare this week or these two weeks." "If you look at how much players were getting 15 years ago and the amount of prize money they get today, you see that the average increase is much larger than the average of any job in this world," he said.
Nadal added that players need to reach a stable agreement with the Grand Slams. "Find an agreement on this and stick to it, and have the Grand Slams commit to increasing prize money by a percentage per year—fair for the players, fair for the tournament... sign this agreement for 10 years, so we can have 10 years of peace," he added.
Why Nadal invests in hospitality, education, and sports
Nadal's business interests extend across hospitality, education, and sports, with many of his investments managed through his family holding company, Aspemir. Prior to Zel Hotels, Nadal opened the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca in 2016 for high-level tennis training, which has now evolved into an international network of tennis academies and sports centers in countries such as Mexico, Greece, Kuwait, Hong Kong, and the Dominican Republic.
"I believe that every day there are more and more people with greater awareness that taking care of your body is extremely important now, so investing in children's education, wellness, and sports makes sense," Nadal said.
In 2025, Nadal sold 44.9% of the Academy to the private equity firm GPF Capital, a transaction valued at approximately 94 million euros (around $107 million). The deal left Nadal with a 55.1% stake and majority control. "This is something that, of course, constitutes a life's work for me, very personal, but at the same time, the company has grown over the last two years and we felt we needed some help to continue growing and expanding," he concluded.
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