Martin Landaluce, the breakout star at the 2026 Miami Open, has enjoyed elite company growing up as a tennis hopeful. The young Spaniard, an alum at Rafael Nadal’s tennis academy in Mallorca, trained with the legend as a teenager.
Landaluce, who is into the quarterfinals in Miami, recently credited Nadal for key improvements in his game.
Martin Landaluce Details Practice Sessions With Rafael Nadal
Landaluce, No. 151 in the world, became the lowest-ranked Miami quarterfinalist in 32 years on Tuesday, March 24. The Spaniard made the main draw with victories against Mackenzie McDonald and Thiago Tirante in the qualifying rounds.
He then beat quality opponents in Marcos Giron, Luciano Darderi, and Karen Khachanov before edging out Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-4. Korda, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in the previous round, was the favorite to win the contest. He, however, failed to convert a crucial match point in the second set.
After his heroics, Landaluce uncovered the perks of training at the Rafa Nadal Academy during his junior years. In his interview on the Tennis Channel, the 20-year-old revealed that had the privilege of training with the 22-time Grand Slam winner when he was 14. “The first time I hit with Rafa, I was 14, and I was practicing. I did a two-hour practice; really good.”
He then received a very special offer to train with Rafael Nadal on clay. “I go home and they tell me, ‘Okay, now you practice with Rafa on clay.’ It was such an emotive moment. I was pretty nervous in the beginning, but he was nice. He was nice with me, and we did a very nice practice.”
“Since then, we’ve done some. I think I’ve improved thanks to him in some areas. My first practice on grass was with him. He (gave) me some tips to do it better,” Landaluce added.
The 2022 US Open boys’ singles champion appreciated the values taught at the academy while also giving a shoutout to his peers.
“Practicing in his academy is really nice. The values they’ve got there and practicing with him; all the players they have there. I did the preseason there also. So yeah, I get a lot of things from him and from his academy.”
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Landaluce credited Nadal for his improvements this season, having received tips during the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals. “We spoke in Jeddah; he was there watching the Next Gen. We had a few words in the locker room. He told me about things to improve. I took that very deep and I tried to improve that, and I think those things that I improved were thanks to the words we had. So yeah, I’m very grateful and thankful.”
The young Spaniard, who has won two Challenger titles and one ITF title, is one win away from cracking the top 100. He faces Jiří Lehečka for a place in his first-ever Masters 1000 semifinal in Miami.
