'He Said He Was Young But Destroyed The Field': Gauff's Former Coach Recounts Junior Days With Nadal

| by Nurein Ahmed

Pere Riba, a former coach of Coco Gauff, recently spoke of Rafael Nadal's extraordinary rise as an up-and-coming prospect in men's tennis.

Riba and Nadal were part of the same generation of tennis players who were just two years apart in age and played on the junior circuit together. But unlike Riba, Nadal enjoyed a meteoric rise as a pro and established himself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

With 22 Grand Slams to his name and other significant accomplishments that Riba can only marvel about, his rise to stardom is probably one of the main reasons why the 37-year-old is a crowd favorite, having bonded with the tennis fans from a very young age.

But Riba, who retired from professional tennis in 2020 to pursue a career in coaching, was not surprised to witness Nadal's spontaneous teenage years excelling at every level he played. He recalled how a "humble" Nadal allayed the hype of making it at the top level.

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"It's funny because, you know, he was 14 years old and then he's, you know, he won the tournament and then when some people they were asking him if he was gonna start to play the Masters."

Riba spoke to The Functional Tennis Podcast

"And he was saying, 'Well, you, know 'I'm young', I'm going step by step.' He was so humble. I remember the moment that he jumped to these (higher level) tournaments, he destroyed the field and passed so far."

Nadal made his ATP debut at 15 and won his first Grand Slam in 2005 Roland Garros just days after celebrating his 19th birthday. Riba then opened up about the experience of learning from Nadal despite being in their early teenage years when they traveled for an international tournament in South Africa.

"And then I remembered that we traveled together to an international tournament in South Africa," Riba said. "And it was a really, really good experience for me, you know, because at least, you know, to travel with Rafa and he was unbelievable at 14 years old, you know? And for me, it was an unbelievable experience."

Now 35, Riba previously worked with Coco Gauff, with whom she helped win the 2023 US Open. He landed a new gig after leaving the young American's camp. The Spaniard will coach the 2023 WTA Most Improved Player, Qinwen Zheng, for the upcoming season.

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