Rafael Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya, recently made an emotional revelation regarding his own future in light of the legend’s upcoming retirement. The Spanish coach also likened training Nadal to training one’s own son.
Spain, the five-time champions, have qualified for the upcoming 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga (November 19-24). Speculation was rife about Rafael Nadal’s potential retirement at the event when the country’s squad was announced in September, with he, Carlos Alcaraz, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Roberto Bautista Agut making the cut.
Last week (October 10), the Spaniard confirmed that he plans to call time on his glorious career after representing his home country in Malaga. During a recent appearance on Radioestadio Noche, Carlos Moya spoke about his compatriot’s decision to retire after the Davis Cup.
“I’ve known for days now that he told the team and me that the Davis Cup was going to be the last tournament he was going to play. Knowing him, we suspected that it was going to happen and that it was going to be there,” Moya said.
Moya, a former World No. 1 and 1998 French Open champion, joined Nadal’s team in 2016, months before the Spaniard’s coaching split with uncle Toni. The pair enjoyed a highly successful partnership, winning eight Grand Slams and eight Masters 1000 titles. Speaking about his future after the legend’s retirement, Carlos Moya said:
“I will now have a period of mourning at work because something breaks up with someone like Rafa who we have known since we were children,” he said.
“The only way to feel something similar would be to train a son,” Moya added.
“Rafael Nadal asked me if I thought he should retire” – Coach Carlos Moya
Rafael Nadal returned to the tour earlier this year after spending almost one year on the sidelines due to the hip injury he suffered at the 2023 Australian Open. While he intended to make a comeback in 2023, his season was ultimately cut short after he opted for an arthroscopic procedure.
Addressing the Spaniard’s decision to undergo surgery, Carlos Moya said:
“The last option a tennis player turns to is an operation because it is difficult for everything to go back to normal and that is what he did last year to try to be competitive again and reach the highest level,” he said during his aforementioned appearance.
“We have thought quite similarly in this period since the operation, at that time we didn’t know if he would return even though he had the operation with that objective in mind,” he added. “We see that he is training and that his level is good so the excitement is great.”
Rafael Nadal competed at seven events this season, six on claycourts, including the French Open, the Paris Olympics, and the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. He also reached the ATP 250 Bastad final.
Moya revealed that his compatriot sought his opinion while pondering retirement during his 2024 campaign.
“At Roland Garros we had a conversation and he asked me if I thought he should retire or hold back a bit. I told him not to say anything before, to have a good tournament, not to close himself off and he thought the same,” he recalled.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion eventually made the call after his Paris Olympics campaign.
