Rafael Nadal was recently seen sharing a light-hearted moment with his coach, Carlos Moya. The 38-year-old was seen enjoying some downtime with his compatriot during a practice session at his academy.
Nadal, who might be playing his final season as a professional player, made a comeback at the 2024 Brisbane International after missing almost the entirety of the 2023 season due to injuries. However, an injury sustained during the tournament led him to withdraw from the Australian Open and several other events.
The former World No.1 has participated in a limited number of tournaments this season and has missed three out of the four Grand Slams and only competing in the French Open, where he was defeated in the first round by Alexander Zverev
The Spaniard’s best performance this season was at the Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden, where he reached the final but lost the title to Nuno Borges . He was also scheduled to represent Team Europe at the 2024 Laver Cup, but withdrew from the tournament due to fitness concerns.
Last month, it was announced that Rafael Nadal would be a part of the Spanish team for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals knockout stages. Spain are scheduled to face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals which will take place in Malaga from November 19 to 21, 2024. The winner of this match will face either Germany or Canada in the semifinals.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion recently took to social media to share a couple of images from his practice session at the Rafa Nadal Academy . In the pictures, Nadal was seen relaxing and sharing a laugh with his coach, Carlos Moya seemingly after the practice session.
“Mood 😉 ,” the Spaniard captioned his Instagram post.
“Being with Rafael Nadal, I’ve genuinely seen unthinkable, otherworldly things” – Carlos Moya
While speaking to ATPTour.com, Rafael Nadal’s coach, Carlos Moya, who began coaching the Spaniard in 2016, expressed that he is no longer surprised by anything the 22-time Grand Slam champion does on the court.
Moya marveled at the extraordinary, some “unthinkable” and “otherworldly things” feats he has witnessed the former World No.1 achieve.
“Nothing can surprise us. Being with him, I’ve genuinely seen unthinkable, otherworldly things. He is still Rafa, we know the player we are talking about,” Moya said.
Talking about the former World No.1 potentially playing his final season of his career, the 48-year old expressed that retirement is something every athlete has to face as they have an “expiry date.”
“Now you can tell the batteries are running low. A sportsman has an expiry date, and he is getting closer to it every day. You’re never aware of when that time is, very rarely. You just keep trying,” he added .
The 38-year old and Moya have also competed against each other on the ATP tour, facing each other eight times in total, with the former emerging victorious in six of those encounters.