Fernando Rivas: ‘I’m Not a Slave of Data’
At the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022, renowned coach Fernando Rivas was seen in a unique double role – with Carolina Marin and also the French team, perhaps the first instance of a coach formally working…
· DEV SUKUMAR
At the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2022, renowned coach Fernando Rivas was seen in a unique double role – with Carolina Marin and also the French team, perhaps the first instance of a coach formally working with players from two countries at the same event. How exactly does Rivas manage his twin roles? And what does he make of his famous protégé’s form following her comeback from a second serious injury?
You might possibly be the first coach to formally work with players from two countries at the same World Championships…
It’s kind of weird, I understand. But when I quit the Spanish federation and started to coach Carolina alone on a professional basis, I was approached by the French federation. I had been approached in the past several times, but never agreed to the conditions. This time, the technical director on the board was pushing a lot and giving me all the conditions to start building a project, a long-term project. Of course, I had already agreed with Carolina (to see her career through), and it was not ethical to let her down in the middle of injury recovery. So I had to accept a part time job, although, to be honest, I'm doing a full time job. I'm not 100 per cent over there, I’m not based in Paris, I’m based in Madrid. I go back and forth, and I share my time in tournaments. But it’s honestly like having almost two full-time jobs.