The coach of 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has confirmed that the tennis star is tuning up his final preparations ahead of his return to competition.
Carlos Moya says the Spaniard will play two key events which he is bidding to win for the first time in his career. Nadal hasn’t played in a singles tournament since losing in the fourth round of the US Open to Frances Tiafoe. He also played a doubles match at the Laver Cup alongside Roger Federer before pulling out of the three-day event.
Nadal has been away from the sport following the birth of his first child on October 8th. He will be hoping to continue what has mainly been a successful season for him. He has achieved a win-loss record of 38-5 and won the first two Grand Slam tournaments of the year.
“Before arriving in Turin, you have to play matches in Paris, which are similar,” Moya told IB3 TV.
“Rafa is competitive wherever he is and we go with hope and illusion.”
Paris is one of only two Masters 1000 events which Nadal has never won in his career along with Miami. His best result at the tournament was reaching the final back in 2007 before losing to David Nalbandian. He has also reached the semi-final stage four times, including his two most recent appearances in 2020 and 2021.
The focus will then switch to the ATP Finals which is another tournament Nadal is yet to triumph at. He is a two-time finalist and this year will be his 11th appearance at the event. He didn’t play in Turin last year due to a foot injury.
Should he win both of those events, Nadal’s ATP trophy tally will be increased to 94 which will place him joint-third with Ivan Lendl for the most titles won in the Open Era. Only Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109) have won more.
Nadal is currently second in the ATP Pepperstone rankings but it is still possible that he could end the season as world No.1 depending on the results of rival Carlos Alcaraz. Should he do so, it will be the sixth time he has done so.
