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Nadal, Ricky Rubio preside over graduation ceremony at tennis great’s academy

Manacor, Spain, Jun 8 (EFE).- Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal and countryman and veteran NBA player Ricky Rubio presided Wednesday over a graduation ceremony for 33 students of the Rafa Nadal International School, an institution located within the tennis academy founded by the current Grand Slam record holder.

Limping noticeably but without the crutches he used after undergoing “pulsed radiofrequency stimulation” treatment at Barcelona’s Teknon clinic for a chronic left-foot injury, the 36-year-old Nadal congratulated the students on completing a portion of their studies and advised them to be “perseverant and humble” in pursuing their dreams.

“You have to work on your virtues, and your determination will make the difference,” Nadal told the young people three days after winning a record-extending 14th French Open to increase his overall tally of Grand Slam titles to 22, unprecedented for a male player.

The 31-year-old Rubio, for his part, thanked Nadal for inviting him to participate in the graduation ceremony, held inside the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar’s indoor tennis facility, and also urged the young people to work hard to achieve their goals.

“Be yourselves and give the best of yourselves,” Rubio, a free agent who is recovering from a knee injury after playing in the 2021-2022 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers, told the new graduates.

Nadal and Rubio did not speak to reporters at the event in Manacor, a town in Spain’s Balearic Islands, but they took photographs with the cap-and-gown-wearing graduates.

The ceremony concluded with Rubio congratulating and handing out diplomas to each member of the Class of 2022, many of whom will now prepare to transition to university life. EFE

pcl/mc

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