Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime - preparing for the new season together?
Felix Auger-Aliassime will prepare for the new season at the Rafa Nadal Academy - and should probably train with the home side once or twice.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Nov 23, 2020, 09:48 pm
Rafael Nadal is known for preparing for a new season together with fellow players in the off-season. In 2019 the 20-time Grand Slam winner fought in "his" Rafa Nadal Academy with Jaume Munar and Caper Ruud, among others, for the coming season. In previous years, the Portuguese Joao Sousa was a welcome training partner.
This year Nadal will probably do the preparation with Felix Auger-Aliassime. At least the Canadian announced in a press conference that he wanted to get himself in shape in the academy of the world number two for the upcoming season from December 2020. This is not yet a guarantee for training units with Nadal, as Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray, for example, had trained in his academy without the Spaniard in the recent past. In the off-season, things should look a little different.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is looking for an experienced coach
It is not yet clear to the 20-year-old whether Auger-Aliassime will be heading to Australia after the units in the "Rafa Nadal Academy": "Many things are still uncertain. We are in standby mode". However, a decision on the Australian Open is expected in the next few days .
It is clear for the world number 21. However, that he is still looking for reinforcement for his team after separating from his long-time coach Guillaume Marx . Frédéric Fontang is currently the Canadian's coach, but Auger-Aliassime would also like to have a "kind of mentor" at his side who has already led a player to Grand Slam titles and the top five in the world rankings.