Barcelona Tennis Academy
After leaving Switzerland, Raphael was in the United States for about 7 years. He then worked in different countries, including Hong Kong, China, where he worked with the Tennis Federation and started an academy there, which he named the Hong Kong International Tennis Academy…However, Raphael missed Europe and decided to return in 2009. He then spent one year in Portugal, where he had planned to start an international tennis academy, having written a business plan for it. He believed it was the ideal place because of the climate and the fact that nothing like this was in place. Raphael stayed there for one year, working in small clubs in different areas of the country, but in 2010, after realising that because of the Portuguese culture and the huge importance of football, it would be difficult to change the minds of the Portuguese people, so he decided that Barcelona would be a better option.
“Of course, in Barcelona there is more competition, more academies, so people could think that it would be more difficult to be successful. However, there is so much demand from all over the world, since tennis is so popular in Spain and is recognised for having the best academies and best coaches, as well as some of the best players in the world being trained in Spain…so it made sense to leave the Portugal project behind and start a new one in the Barcelona area…Looking back, I strongly believe that it was the right decision.”
“Barcelona is a great place to work at because of the weather, the people, the culture. It offers a very relaxed atmosphere, which is actually something I like, coming from Switzerland. It is nice to have this kind of atmosphere where people are a bit more relaxed. Life is short, so I think it’s good to see things with a more relaxed state of mind.”