BY KARISSA MILLER

It’s impossible to know what the future holds for Theo Johnson and how far tennis might take him.

But the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain was a pretty good place to accelerate his journey. He spent 10 days in Mallorca and Barcelona in June, training and honing his skills in the sport he loves.

After Johnson boarded the plane bound for Barcelona, the pilot made a special announcement that Johnson was attending the Rafa Academy and wished him good luck as he played tennis in Spain.

“It was pretty cool,” Theo, who is 11 and lives in Statesville, recalled. “At first, I didn’t realize he was talking about me.”

While in Barcelona, he was assigned a dorm and a roommate. He spent the next couple of days training in Barcelona, following a structured training and playing schedule. Breakfast began each day at 7 a.m. and training started at 9 a.m.

The sessions were divided into morning and afternoon cross-training sessions and tennis matches. The morning session spanned a few hours, followed by a lunch break, and he resumed training from 2 until 6 p.m.

Theo said if he had to pick one word to describe the camp it would be “intense.”

“We practiced all day and then played matches. The coaches stressed that we needed to be physically fit, eat right, and get a good night’s rest in order to build up our stamina,” he explained.

“They also taught us that tennis is also a mental game. The one thing I learned was to never give up even if you’re down a set,” he added.

Theo enjoyed meeting new friends from different cultures, including North America, South America, and Spain.

“I learned that we’re pretty much alike except for the language. We all got along well and enjoyed the competition. They were the best players I had ever played against. They made me want to play better,” he said.

But the best part of Theo’s trip came one day when he was out on the tennis court.

“I got to play on the court next to Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal — it still hasn’t sunk in,” he said, explaining that the experience gave him extra motivation to do his best that day.

“His forehands were so powerful,” he added.

Other highlights were meeting Rafa’s father, Sebastián Nadal, and playing on red clay.

“Red clay is basically a swimming pool that you can walk on. That’s the best way I can describe it,” Theo said. “It’s so much fun to slide around on it.”

He was 10 years old at the time of the camp and competed in the 12-and-under category. He placed second for his age group in Mallorca and at Barcelona.

His coach, Stacie Kennington of Blue Skies Tennis, saw everything firsthand that Theo experienced. She was able to watch several of the drills and matches, meet with the Academy coaches and receive feedback on Theo’s strengths, weaknesses and areas to focus on in the future.

“He is such a hard worker. He loves this sport. The proudest moment for me is when I see him having fun,” she said.

During the trip, Johnson also got to visit Sagrada Familia, the largest cathedral in the world, the Picasso Museum, the Mediterranean Sea and other historic sights. His favorite place to eat was McDonald’s — the chicken nuggets there were a lot better than the ones in the U.S., he said.

His tennis journey began during the pandemic

Johnson began his tennis journey during the pandemic under the direction of Kennington. She realized that Johnson was “a natural,” and it wasn’t long before others noticed his talent as well. After only three years of tennis, he was selected to attend the Rafa Academy

In the summer of 2023, Johnson attended the Rafa Nadal Academy in Charlotte. The Academy traveled throughout the United States and had 1,400 tennis players in attendance. Of these players, 56 were selected to attend the Academy in Mallorca, Spain, in the summer of 2024. Johnson was one of the 56 players selected.

Johnson said he’s thankful for so many generous donors who helped sponsor his trip. His mom, Emma Johnson, agreed.

“We are extremely grateful for the outpouring of support we received. Theo has established a good group of followers who continue to encourage him on his journey,” Emma said.

“Theo was proud to be representing the Statesville community. He learned what being an ambassador means and greatly expanded his knowledge on what it means to be globally minded,” she added.

Johnson said for anybody playing tennis that wants to get better, his best advice is don’t give up. While he has a lot of natural ability, Johnson has dedicated countless hours to drills, and he practices regularly to improve his serving and overall game.

Johnson is a sixth-grade student at Oakwood Middle School, an International Baccalaureate World School, in Statesville.

His tennis friends already joke that he lives at the tennis courts, but he plans on practicing every day and making tennis a focused priority.

“I want to go to Wake Forest and play professionally,” he said.