“Rafael Nadal Was Reluctant To Change Something” – Carlos Moya

The inclusion of Carlos Moya to his coaching team was revelatory for Rafael Nadal. He helped Rafa recover from the slump in his career of 2015-16.

When many felt that increasing age and burden of injuries were hurting Nadal, the Spanish coach introduced key changes. This helped Rafa achieve longevity in his career. One of these changes was in his focus shifting more towards his serving game.

The results are self-explanatory. Rafa‘s game has achieved a complete turn since his serving has improved. Carlos Moya talked to well-known presenter Annabelle Croft about those aspects which he helped to improve.

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What did Carlos Moya say about Rafael Nadal and his famous practice?

Carlos Moya she’d some light on the practice routine of Rafael Nadal. It includes some key insights from him.

“He was humble enough to be aware of his weakness or face that he can improve,” Carlos Moya said.

“And that is the key. We had been telling him for one year that his serve has to be better but he was reluctant to change something. But then he was the one to say, ‘Okay, right now.’ Right after that moment it was the time for us to step in.”

Moya revealed the methods he used.

“Being aggressive isn’t about hitting hard, it’s about positioning on court as well,” Moya explained. “Being aggressive is more about having it in his mind that he can play a step closer to the baseline.”

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He further explained how he went about helping Rafa in achieving the desired results.

“He was very keen to change his serve after one year when I was with him,” Moya revealed. “He was injured in his knee and he realized it was the moment to try. He tried it but we saw how he did not find a way to keep the same motion.

“He was changing the motion every 2-3 months and he realized he needed to change his serve in order to be a better player,” Moya added. “We tried to change a couple of things and he was feeling comfortable since the first moment.

“I think it paid off. I like to do 2 vs 1 drill for Rafael Nadal, where Rafa has to play two players. He is changing pace, changing directions. When you play tennis, it’s about changing directions to make the opponent run.”

Rafael Nadal was indeed a big beneficiary of the methods employed by Carlos Moya in achieving changes. At the end of the day, it helped him in getting out of a very bad phase of his career. That’s why Carlos Moya will always be remembered as one of the best coaches in tennis history with a big contribution.