Technical Staff

Rafa Nadal's coach until 2017

17 Grand Slam

I find it hard to define myself as a tennis coach or an instructor. I think of my work as going much further than this. The best word I would use to define it is “trainer”, with this definition not being limited to only the tennis court. It encompasses many other aspects which have led me to experience tennis as part of my life.

To put it plainly, three aspects which guide the course of action of the Rafa Nadal Academy are technical work, forming character and training on values.

Tennis requires a technique which has been closely studied for many years. There are many manuals on it, and also a lot of technology and advances that we have gradually incorporated. The sport has developed incredibly in recent decades, and those who have not been able to adapt are no longer competitive. However, as I understand it, and from our experience, elite tennis, intense competition and ambition in this sport feed on other aspects which hardly appear in manuals, even the most recent ones.

I can state that from the beginning of my nephew’s training I paid as much attention to his technical learning as to the formation of his character. Without a hardened character for facing the most demanding competition, it is very difficult to achieve a lasting success. A well-trained character is one which has been prepared to bear the toughness of daily effort, mastery of will, development of the capacity for improvement, and just as important, excitement. I have always thought that lacking any of these elements would have a very negative effect on the results my nephew pursued, and on those of anyone who wanted to dedicate themselves to professional tennis.

Rafa Nadal's coach 

Former No.1 ATP

Roland Garrós champion.

Former 88 ATP singles and 73 doubles

Former coach of 10 Top 100 ATP / WTA players

Marc was born in Barcelona on the 4th of March 1964, and was a professional tennis player for over 15 years, competing at different levels. He reached ATP number 88 in singles and 73 in doubles.

His debut as a coach was in 1999 with Roberto Carretero, who he helped rise from position 361 to 171 in the ATP singles ranking. The following season, he worked with Sergi Bruguera at the academy where Marc had trained as a player for several years. Sergi rose from position 375 to 80 in ATP singles. During 2000, coinciding with the coaching periods in Barcelona, Marc studied as a manager of sports companies.

Since 2001, he worked for three years with Albert Portas. Albert won the trophy at the Hamburg Masters Series in 2001, among other prizes, and achieved his best ATP singles ranking, reaching position 19. In 2003, Marc also worked with Fernando Vicente, another top 50 player. The same year, he obtained the certification as an ATP Coach on the course taught by the ATP.

In 2004 he began a new phase with Alberto Martin, from his tennis club, for four years. Alberto was placed around position 50 in the ATP singles ranking during those years, playing consecutive finals at the ATP 250 in Costa do Sauípe in 2005 and 2006, and also playing doubles, with successes such as winning the ATP 250 in Amersfoort with Fernando Vicente in 2006. During 2005 and 2006, Marc combined his work as coach with studies to become a National Tennis Coach from the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation.

In 2008, Marc moved to Colombia for five years. There he was Director of the Colsanitas Tennis Team. This team promoted professional tennis in Colombia and brought together the best players in the country. In addition to coaching, Marc’s functions included leading and managing the group made up of 8 players, 5 tennis coaches, 1 fitness coach and medical assistant, as well as attending to any other need that may arise. Additionally, Marc was the connection with different regional federations for recognition of new values.

Colsanitas Team Players: Mariana Duque Marino, Alejandro Falla, Santiago Giraldo, Juan Sebastián Cabal, Robert Farah, Alejandro Gonzalez, Felipe Mantilla and Alejandro Struvay.

Alejandro Falla and Santiago Giraldo - Top 50 in ATP singles
Mariana Duque - Top 100 in WTA singles
Alejandro González - Top 100 in ATP singles
Juan Sebastián Cabal - Top 20 in ATP doubles
Robert Farah - Top 50 in ATP doubles
During this period, Marc worked with the Davis Cup team of Colombia, as Captain in 2011 and 2012. Colombia qualified for the Play Offs to challenge for entering the Global Group.

In December 2012, Marc returned to Europe to work with the Dutch Robin Haase until May 2014. Robin was a doubles finalist with Igor Sijsling at the Australian Open 2013 and a finalist in singles at the ATP 250 in Gstaad and Vienna. His best ATP singles ranking in the period was position 42.

In June 2014 Marc went to work with young Italian player Gianluigi Quinzi for two months, and in August of that year was contracted by the Chinese Taipei Tennis Federation to prepare the national Team for the 2014 Asian Games. In that period he also worked with young local players.

In 2015 he formalized an agreement with the Mexican Tennis Federation to work on the development of young player Lucas Gomez. Lucas rose 250 positions in the ATP singles ranking.

In 2016 Marc joined the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar project, joining the organising team for this new phase.

Former USTA coach (Fritz, Opelka, Paul)

Former Carlos Costa, Joan Aguilera and Francis Roig coach.

Joel Figueras was selected as coach for the Mexican Davis Cup team in 1989, in the qualifying round of the world group which played in Marbella between Spain and Mexico, made up of the following players: Leo Lavalle (ranking 51 ATP), Francisco Maciel (ATP ranking 35), Jorge Lozano (ATP ranking 51) and Agustín Moreno (ATP ranking 25 in Doubles).

Before joining the USTA, Joel worked for 20 years as Director and Manager in the tennis department of RC de Polo Barcelona, a Club with 120 years of history, with over 10,000 members and with one of the largest tennis schools in Europe (900 players and over 50 coaches).

Joel Figueras holds the highest title granted by the Spanish Tennis Federation (Level 3 National Coach). Figueras was selected as best Spanish professional in 2009, awarded by the RPT (Professional Tennis Registry). In previous editions this award was granted to renowned tennis players such as Toni Nadal, Albert Costa, Gabriel Urpí and Antonio Martínez Cascales.

His extensive knowledge in tennis has allowed Joel to teach at tennis clinics and conferences around the world, for federations, entities and tennis clubs.

Joel began his tennis career at a young age in Barcelona, his home city, and represented his country at different team and individual competitions in the under-16 and under-18 categories, competing in the World Junior Circuit and ending in position 17 in the world ranking.

At 18 years old, Joel Figueras had to interrupt his dedication to tennis for 15 months, being sent to the Canary Islands to complete Compulsory Military Service. Upon completing it, he competed for several years on the professional circuit of ATP Futures and Challengers in Europe, America and Africa, before dedication to his teaching career as a tennis coach.

Former coach of Carlos Moyá

Former Balearic Federation Technical Director

Joan Bosch was born in Menorca on the 2nd of July 1975, and spent the majority of his youth as a player at the Balearic Government School, sharing training sessions with Carlos Moyá. He graduated as a Physical Education Teacher from Alberta Giménez University and became a national tennis instructor for the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation.

His debut as a coach was at 17 years old at different clubs in Menorca and Mallorca, until, thanks to his skills, he moved to the technification centre of the Balearic School of Sport where he worked as an instructor and tutor of the Calanova residence. During his time working at the Balearic School of Sport he met Toni Nadal and Rafa Nadal, and also professional tennis player Nuria Llagostera.

After his phase at the School, he worked for 7 years with the former ATP world number one Carlos Moyá, one year with Jose Higueras and another with José Perlas.

During the careers of Joan Bosch, Carlos Moyá ended up among the best eight players in the world for three consecutive years, in addition to winning the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and Rome, competitions such as the Conde de Godó Tournament and the Umag Tournament, among others, ending up in fifth position of the world ranking in his best year.

After the phase with Carlos Moya, he began a new phase as Director of the Sports Technification Programme of the Balearic Government within the programme dedicated to tennis, in which athletes such as Jaume Antoni Munar and Guillermo Alcaide participated, the latter reaching position 300 in the ATP ranking.

Over the last two years, Joan Bosch has been training Javier Vázquez, who participated in the qualifiers for the Spanish team.

Former coach of Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Conchita Martínez

Former French Tennis Federation coach

Former tennis director at Rafa Nadal Tennis Center Mexico.

Former high performance coach John McEnroe Academy.

Former coach of Juan Monaco (Top-10)

Vice captain of the Argentine Davis Cup Team

Rafa Nadal's technical team

Coach of Jaume Munar and Casper Ruud

Casper Ruud's coach

Jaume Munar's coach