“If the Australian Open started tomorrow it would be a real fear,” Carlos Moya’s confidence on Rafael Nadal’s fitness remains shaken

Nadal will make his comeback in the 2023-24 Brisbane International before playing in the Australian Open.

“If the Australian Open started tomorrow it would be a real fear,” Carlos Moya’s confidence on Rafael Nadal’s fitness remains shaken

Carlos Moya (L), Rafael Nadal (R) (Sources: Open Source/X)

A few days ago, Carlos Moya busted the notion that Rafael Nadal needs to play a lot of matches to regain his form ahead of the 2024 Australian Open. He said that whenever the 22-time Grand Slam winner has returned from injury; he has achieved good results. However, recently, the Spaniard’s coach has seemingly had a breach in his confidence now that Nadal’s date of return is approaching. 

Recently, in an interview, Moya said that the entire process of playing intense matches, resting, and coming back to play the next match in two days is very tiresome and he is doubtful whether Rafael Nadal is ready to cope with the heat right now. The coach emphasized that if the Australian Open started tomorrow, it would be a real problem for the ‘King of Clay’. 

Playing best of 5 sets, winning, resting, coming back on court 2 days later... That's the doubt I have now, especially in Grand Slams. But there's some time left. If the Australian Open started tomorrow, it would be a real fear.
Carlos Moya (H/T: Le Equipe)

Rafael Nadal will not make his comeback directly at the Australian Open; he will play in the Brisbane International first, which starts on 31st December 2023. This has been solely done so that he can play a few matches ahead of the 2024 Australian Open and get match fit. It is extremely necessary that he is absolutely ready before stepping on the court at the Grand Slam. 

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Carlos Moya says that Rafael Nadal needs to get into rhythm first

Nadal has not played in a single tournament since the 2023 Australian Open. He suffered a hip flexor injury in the middle of the tournament and he had surgery for that. As a result, Nadal’s entire 2023 season was wiped out, and it took him almost a year to recover. However, now that he is finally making his comeback, Carlos Moya has said that the player needs to get into momentum and find his confidence back first. 

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Source: NDTV Sports)
I never thought that Rafa needed rhythm because he's too good for that. But now the situation is different. 

Nadal has himself opined that he will not be able to compete for the trophy at the beginning of his comeback because he is no longer at his prime and he is coming back from a major injury. Thus, he has asked his fans to keep their expectations low. 

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