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![]() Aerial view of the Ferrero Tennis Academy | |
Formation | 1990 |
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Founder | Antonio Martínez Cascales |
Purpose | Sport |
Location | |
Coordinates | 38°40′04″N0°54′22″W / 38.6677°N 0.9060°W |
Director | Juan Carlos Ferrero |
Website | ferreroacademy |
The Ferrero Tennis Academy is a tennis academy and training center in Villena, Alicante, Spain. It hosts the JC Ferrero Challenger Open on the ATP Challenger Tour. [1] [2]
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]