Moya: The privilege of being with Rafa

I first met Rafa when he was 11 years old, in Stuttgart. He was playing in a tournament on the Nike Junior Tour, in the under-12 category, and I was playing in the Masters 1000 in the same city. I think that at that time it was part of the Super 9 or Masters Series category, I can’t remember now. I was playing with Becker and Rafa came to the practice the day before with someone from Nike, who introduced him to me. They asked me to play 10 minutes with him, and we knocked up for a bit. That was the first time we crossed paths. I thought he was a very shy and well-mannered boy, who barely spoke. Then on court he was transformed and his intensity was so high for someone of his age.

Later, in 2016, it was such a joy to receive the call from the team, but first I wanted to have a conversation alone with him. He was coming off the back of two seasons where things had not gone well for him, he was 30 years old and didn’t know what to do going forward. We sat down to talk at my house and he laid out his goals for me. I didn't hesitate in the slightest to accept because I could see he’d be able to achieve them. I was hugely confident and when I saw his desire to try to get back to where he deserved to be, which was at the top and winning Grand Slam titles, I didn’t hesitate to join the project.

With that desire, I knew that he’d be perfectly capable of achieving it.

Honestly, I thought my new role would be more difficult because it was a big change. We’d been friends for over 20 years, shared a lot together, both on and off the court, and becoming his coach... I was doubtful about how it might work. It’s true that Rafa is very well-mannered and respectful, I’ve never heard him say a single word against his team or his family. That’s something I also valued and it helped me when it came to working with him. I don’t like the word ‘boss’, but sometimes you make decisions or you have conversations that aren’t easy and it’s hard travelling and spending so much time together. I was scared that that could erode the friendship side of it, but it wasn’t the case.

During that time, I’d say that nothing surprised me, but I admired a lot of things. I wasn’t at all surprised because my expectations had always been so high with him. But it is true that you are always amazed with his capacity to evolve and improve.

Personally, I’m fascinated by the fact that he can play every point as if the previous one didn’t happen, that’s so hard to do in tennis. Rafa is able to put anything bad that happens to one side and forget it. That’s one of the keys that allow him to fight for every point, every set, every match; one of the keys that have allowed him to go so far. The definition of resilience, a word that is very fashionable, is Rafa. He has fallen many times, particularly with injuries, and he has always got back up and come back. All those skills are incredible and they’d surprise me in anyone else I didn’t know, but I know Rafa... It doesn’t surprise me, but it makes me admire him a lot.

Now that everything is over, I have many memories of an incredible period of my life that will never be matched. It’s something I’ll always carry with me. I’m grateful that he thought I could form part of his team for this adventure. I’ve learned so much, I’ve had the chance to spend eight years with one of the greats in the history of this sport and my memories of it are wonderful.

Of course, there will be things I’ll miss, but they’re things I’m grateful for. Having enjoyed all that time with a player like him, with a person like him, all the experiences we’ve had together with the team...

I’m sure there’ll be moments when I’ll look back and feel nostalgia, but I always look at new beginnings as a positive thing. Fortunately, I have a wonderful family with whom I’ll be able to spend a lot of time. I’m sure I’ll feel nostalgia, but what I feel above all is gratitude and appreciation.

*Carlos Moyà was Rafael Nadal’s coach from 2017 to 2024

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