Maxi Grabiel: “The most difficult thing for a coach today is emotional management”

Former professional player and today experienced coach , Maxi Grabiel has established himself as one of the most respected figures in world padel. He has coached prestigious teams, such as Bea Gonzalez and Martita Ortega , or Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz , winners of the first Premier Padel Tour Finals In 2025, he begins a new adventure with Coki Nieto and Mike Yanguas and discusses this new stage in an interview given to Padel Addict .

“Mentally, they are very strong.”

Maxi first highlights the strong minded of his current players. According to him, Coki and Mike are part of best pairs in the world , thanks to their competitive mentality Coki Nieto, in particular, has reached a milestone: “Before, he was satisfied with a quarter or a half. Now, he wants more.”

He attributes this development to a constant, in-depth effort that goes far beyond coaching during matches. “The most important thing is the daily work. The match is the final exam. If you haven't prepared beforehand, it won't work.”

Advancing a Top Pair: Details, Confidence, and Emotion

Even at this level, improvement is possible. Grabiel's work focuses on targeted technical adjustments , but especially on the emotional and mental aspect .

“The hardest thing for a coach today is emotional management. Ensuring that players want to train, that they maintain a good attitude in tournaments… That's where it all comes down to. And then, the relationship between partners also has to work; that's crucial.”

Coki and Mike, two complementary profiles

Grabiel also returns to the game of his protégés: Yanguas , which he considers to be a modern right-wing player , explosive and aggressive, and Coki , with a more classic style, without great power but extremely complete: “He has a lot of qualities. He doesn’t hit like Galán or Tapia, but he compensates with a great reading of the game, varied shots and exceptional speed. He has improved in the víboras, the cut balls, the rhythm. He plays faster.”

The padel of the future? Bigger, more powerful... but still fast

For Maxi Grabiel, the future of padel is leaning towards increasingly physical players: “Guys who are 1m tall and move as if they were 95m tall. We've already seen that in tennis. Powerful, explosive players... but also intelligent.”

He also notes the quality of current padel as show : “Live, it’s impressive. What’s missing is broadcasting. We need more television, more media, especially in emerging countries.”

A busy season with little rest

Concerning hellish pace Regarding the 2025 calendar, Grabiel regrets the lack of time for real preparation: “The Masters finished late, there were holidays, and by mid-January we were already in Riyadh. We weren't able to really recharge our batteries or train properly.”

Despite everything, he keeps an intact ambition for his new pair, and hopes to see them establish themselves among the big names on the circuit .

Benjamin Dupouy

I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !