Nadal's New Injury Was A 'Big Moral Blow' According To Coach Moya

Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 04:30

byZachary Wimer

Rafael Nadal's injury in his third match back was a huge blow to his morale, according to his coach, Carlos Moya, but he should be back on the courts soon enough.

The 22-time major winner did play down expectations ahead of his comeback in Brisbane, but even so, he probably wanted things to go smoothly. The first match went smoothly, as did the second one, but his quarterfinal match against Jordan Thompson wasn't good.

It wasn't great because he injured himself and not because he lost the match. The injury ultimately kept him away from the Australian Open, and while Nadal admitted that his reservation mostly came from not being sure how things would be, it was a huge blow to his morale.

That's according to his coach, Carlos Moya, who spoke to Punto de Break recently and shared how the injury was perceived among the team, including Nadal. The good news is that it wasn't serious, which Moya knew immediately.

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"I knew it wasn't the same, because he didn't react the same as last year. There, you immediately saw that there was a very big limitation. In this case it was not the same. He was able to compete. A serious injury prevents you from doing what he was able to do against Thompson."

"Of course, you never know because we had already had problems in the past that seemed like it was going to be nothing and then it was a couple of months."

The injury was unfortunate but Nadal will be back in a couple of weeks at the Qatar Open in Doha. That's the plan, at least, and he seems to be working towards that plan.

"A break at these levels is 3-4 weeks and in this case we have been lucky that it has not gone further. This happens in sport, but it is true that the moral blow has been big because he seemed prepared and problems from the past come back to you again."