“He Gave The Confidence”: Uncle Toni Applauds Carlos Moya for Developing Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal withdrew from ongoing North American tournaments recently due to injury issues. Ever since Nadal has changed coaches, his performances has depreciated. However, his uncle Toni Nadal kept a diplomatic stance when he answered a question on a podcast with Eric Han.

Toni Nadal coached Rafael for 27 years, starting in 1990 when he was a young boy from Manacor. The duo split in 2017 and Rafael decided to partner with Francisco Roig and Carlos Moya. In a recent podcast, Toni stated that the arrival of Moya and Roig has helped Nadal improved his game.

Toni Nadal on Carlos Moya and Francisco Roig’s coaching for Rafael Nadal

Toni shares a personal relationship with Rafael Nadal, hence the split in 2017 was not easy. However, with Nadal’s increasing age, he needed a new direction and a new plan. Carlos Moya and Francisco Roig came in just for that and turned it around for El Nino. With his age, he had to decrease the running part and play smarter tennis.

“I remember the last meeting that we had, Rafael and me, to prepare for the next season into, at the end of 2016. I remember when I said to him in the academy, it was him and me alone and I said ‘Rafael you have to, you cannot run like before, you have to be more aggressive, you have to go more to the net. And of course you need to improve the serve because at your age you need to improve the serve’,” said Toni.

“I think when Carlos arrived, I think he gave confidence to make this, to make the serve faster and that was important,” said Toni.

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Nadal misses out on major tournaments after foot injury

The former World No.1 withdrew from the Cincinnati Open and the National Bank Open after his body did not cooperate. He last played at the Washington Open where he was eliminated in the third round.

Before the Washington Open, he last featured at the French Open in June and lost in the semifinals. He will miss out on the remaining chunk of the month and also won’t represent team Europe at the Laver Cup.

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