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Spanish tennis stalwart Rafael Nadal has parted ways with his long-time coach Francisco Roig after working together for the last 18 years. Nadal went on to win 22 Grand Slams along with multiple other titles in this time frame. The pair got together in 2005 after which Nadal won his first Grand Slam and as they say rest is history. Reports add that Roig wanted to work on a new personal project as a coach and hence decided to part ways.
The 54-year-old Roig has been with Nadal through the biggest moments of the legendary Mallorcan’s career and was a constant presence as other members of his coaching team were replaced. The defending Australian and French Open winner penned a heartfelt note for Roig as he confirmed the end of their partnership.
Nadal spoke about how he will be eternally grateful for Francis Roig’s contribution to his career. "I wanted to inform you that Francis Roig is leaving the team. Francis has been an important person in my career and I am very grateful to him for all these years of work and friendship. When we started working together I was a child and together with my uncle Toni, we started on the circuit," he wrote.
Rafa also further praised his coaching style and how Roig always helped him get better. "Francis is a great coach who knows tennis very well and has helped me a lot to get better and better. I only have words of gratitude and I wish him all the luck in the world in his new project," he added.
With Roig’s departure, Rafael Nadal’s coaching team now consists of Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez for the 2023 season, where the Spaniard would hope to add some more Grand Slams to his name. Looking back at this year, Nadal created history by winning his 22nd Grand Slam title and also lifted his fifth ITF World Champion title.
Another major coaching change also took place as British tennis sensation Emma Raducanu reportedly hired former German player Sebastian Sachs as her coach ahead of the 2023 pro season. Sachs will be her fifth coach in under two years.
