You switch your TV on to watch Rafa play his latest match. The sun is shining (hopefully!), the players are warming up. They show the tournament stats for Rafa and his opponent…..and then the camera pans round to The Players’ Boxes – the front row seats occupied by the friends, family and staff of the players. Some faces are there for every match, others just every now and then. Sometimes they’re people we recognize (remember when Barbra Streisand turned up to watch Andre Agassi play?) but most of the time the casual tennis fan wouldn’t really have much of a clue who these people are.

But to those of us who support a particular player these are very important people, and knowing their identity can make for some great moments at tournaments…several VBers mentioned having a word with Rafa’s mum at Monte Carlo recently, and MAC and Flo seemed to make quite an impression on Maymo! However, for new fans it can get a bit confusing, hearing VBers talk about these people, but not really knowing who they are. So here it is, the idiots' guide to recognizing the inhabitants of Rafa’s Box!

First and foremost, there’s nearly always Uncle Toni – he really is Rafa’s uncle (one of his dad’s brothers) but the world media, commentators, VBers, and anyone who has the slightest interest in the tennis world have all claimed him as Uncle and refer to him as such! He doesn’t attend every tournament but he’s there most of the time, wearing his Iberostar baseball cap, closely following every point played by his nephew. He’s been Rafa’s coach from the start, and was responsible for Rafa playing left-handed despite his being naturally right-handed. He is keen to build Rafa’s character as well as improve his tennis.

There are often other family members in his box – his mother Ana Maria, his father Sebastian and his sister Maria Isabel (sometimes referred to as Maribel) are frequently there to support him, particularly at the majors, and we also occasionally catch sight of another uncle, Miguel Angel, who is a sporting hero in his own right, having played soccer for Barcelona and the Spanish national team. Sebastian’s other brother, Rafael, is also an occasional guest in the box. We have also spotted Rafa’s grandparents (granddad is also called Rafael) and Maribel’s boyfriend supporting Rafa from time to time.




Another guest, who some of us are happy to see, and others maybe not quite so happy, is Rafa’s long-term girlfriend Maria Francisca Perello, usually referred to as Xisca. A Mallorcan girl, she has been dating Rafa for several years, and although she seems to prefer to keep a relatively low profile (she certainly doesn’t seem to be a ‘WAG’) she has been seen cheering her boyfriend on enthusiastically at several tournaments.


Moving on from family, we now look at Rafa’s staff – although from what we see of the group of them at tournaments, they could just as easily come under the heading of Good Mates, as they all seem to enjoy one another’s company.

Rafa’s physiotherapist is also called Rafael (why are they all called Rafael???!)– Rafael Maymo, usually referred to as Maymo, to avoid confusion. To call him Rafa’s physio though is over-simplifying things – sure he is on hand at every tournament to provide physiotherapy, but he also advises on nutrition, and documents Rafa’s practice sessions in seemingly minute detail in his famous notebook, or more recently on an ipad. His other essential role in Team Rafa is to provide opposition when PlayStation soccer tournaments are held in hotel rooms around the world!



Another regular is Carlos Costa, a former top 10 tennis player who played in the late 1980’s and the 1990’s. He now works for IMG and is Rafa’s agent. Despite their official titles, both Maymo and Carlos are often in the thick of the action at practice sessions – Maymo acting as ball boy, and Carlos being photographed on occasion with a racket in his hands.


Look out too for Francisco Roig, who is also a coach and often attends the tournaments from which Uncle Toni is absent. Francisco was also a professional tennis player, and in August 2009 he temporarily came out of retirement to partner Rafa in the doubles at the Rogers Cup in Montreal.



Other faces to spot include Benito Perez Barbadillo who is Rafa’s PR Manager, Dr Angel Ruiz-Cotorro (Rafa’s doctor who has overseen treatment for his various injuries over the years) and Jordi Robert (usually known as Tuts) who is his agent at Nike.





Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it might help VBers to commit some faces to memory, just in case you happen to bump in to them at a tournament. And in the meantime, we’ll all just keep dreaming that one day it will be us sitting in the front row, cheering our man to another title!