Spanish talent nearly forced to quit: ”Couldn't even cut a tomato”

The 21-year-old talent Jesus Moya has had a brilliant season with two quarter-finals to his name and has now established himself in the top tier of the WPT.

But now he says his career could have been over years ago.

— At the time, I didn't know if I could continue, Jesus Moya said in an interview with Padel Magazine.

Many talents have made their mark on the World Padel Tour this year - one of them is Jesus Moya from the Spanish enclave in North Africa, Melilla. 

Perhaps not in the same way as Miguel Yanguas or Arturo Coello, but he is a young player who has performed well. He started the season strongly together with Edu Alonso and made it to the quarter-finals in Valencia. 

With his current partner Fransico Gil, he has made it to the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Masters. 

And perhaps he could have been even more on the level of Yanguas/Coello - if it weren't for a serious injury. Moya had his entire 2019 season ruined due to an inflamed wrist. 

— In 2019, I went to Madrid to train. We started early in the morning, it was cold, and I felt that I had lost the power in my hand, in my fingers, and it hurt. The people I trained with said it was because I was from Melilla and I wasn't used to the cold. I went to the physiotherapist, and he told me that I had an inflammation in my wrist. I continued to train while receiving treatment for the injury. But it got worse and worse, the pain didn't go away, and finally, it was so bad I couldn't even cut a tomato, Jesus Moya told Padel Magazine.

But that was only the beginning of the injury.

— Finally, I had more detailed tests, and it turned out that I had a blood clot. I had to go back to Melilla for treatment, and the doctors told me I couldn't continue practicing. I took heparin, but it didn't work. It wasn't easy - I was used to doing sports all the time, going round in circles, and worrying about my health. I went to several different hospitals and saw specialists, did tests, and tried to understand why it wasn't working, he says. 

— One day, during an ultrasound, we realized that I had two blood clots higher up in my forearm. Fortunately, the doctors caught it early, and I had to have surgery. But it wasn't without risk, my parents were very worried, and for a while, we didn't know if I would be able to continue playing padel. It's been a tough year for the whole family.

He was in pain, with no strength in his right arm, but still wanted to play padel. But the operation went well, and then he spent two months in a row with two sessions a day on rehab. Finally, after a lot of time in the gym, he regained his strength and was able to get back on the court. 

Now he's back and in better shape than ever. Next week the Malmö Padel Open will be played in Sweden.