TENNIS NEWS – CARLOS MOYA JOINS UNCLE TONI “RAFA” RAFAEL NADAL’S COACHING TEAM FOR 2017

Written by: Staff on 17th December 2016

TENNIS NEWS - CARLOS MOYA JOINS UNCLE TONI "RAFA" RAFAEL NADAL'S COACHING TEAM FOR 2017

epa05128999 The coach of Canada's Milos Raonic, Carlos Moya, reacts after Raonic defeated Gael Monfils of France in a quarter final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 27 January 2016. EPA/FILIP SINGER |

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal has announced that fellow Spaniard and former world No. 1 Carlos Moya is joining his coaching team. Moya will become a part of a long-time staff that includes Nadal’s uncle, Toni, and Francisco Roig. The 40-year-old, who will also help with Nadal’s new academy at home in Mallorca, is starting immediately in preparation for the upcoming 2017 season.

“I am very excited to announce that Carlos will join my team immediately and will be working together with Toni and Francis Roig,” Nadal said. “To have someone like Carlos who is not only a friend but also a very important person in my career, is something special. He will be next to me on my practice and competition. At the same time he will also join the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar working with Toni and the rest of the technical team.”

Moya worked with Milos Raonic in 2016, helping the Canadian reach a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world. Raonic’s best-ever season featured a runner-up performance at Wimbledon (lost to Murray) and an epic semifinal struggle Murray at the World Tour Finals in which he almost denied the Scot a chance to finish the year No. 1 (Murray accomplished the feat one day later with a win over Novak Djokovic).

Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal evades a ball during the doubles match against Carlos Taberner and Bernabe Zapata during the round of 16th of the Spanish Doubles Championship match played at the Rafa Nadal Sports Centre of Manacor, Balearics Islands, Spain, 15 December 2016. EPA/CATI CALDERA

Like Roger Federer, Nadal endured an injury-plagued 2016 season. The 14-time major champion was forced out of the French Open with a wrist injury and he missed Wimbledon due to the same issue. Nadal returned to capture the doubles gold medal at the Rio Olympics with Marc Lopez, but he never got back on track in singles. He played only two events during the fall swing after losing to Lucas Pouille in a fifth-set tiebreaker in round four of the U.S. Open.

“Toni called me while I was at the IPTL competition,” Moya commented. “It was great to receive that call. To be able to help Rafa is something special for me and I am sure that, together with Toni, Francis, and the rest of the team, we have a great common project.

“Rafa is a special player and, above all, a great person. I have a lot of trust and confidence that he will be able to continue winning important titles. At the same time, the academy is an important challenge in an already very professional structure with great professionals that do an excellent work.”

“When I knew Carlos had stopped with Raonic I called him,” Toni explained. “Carlos has always been a special person for us. He was always there to help us. We think it is the right moment to have him join our team.”