The Spanish Tennis Federation has officially named former WTA No. 27 Gala Leon Garcia as the country’s Davis Cup captain. This marks the first time that a female player has been appointed as the captain of the Spanish team.
The 40-year-old played on the WTA tour between 1991 and 2004 and reached a career high ranking of No. 27 at the turn of the millennium.
Garcia replaces Carlos Moya, who saw the Spanish team head to relegations for the first time since 1996 after they lost their World Group Play-Off match against Brazil.
While the decision is hardly revolutionary, with Andy Murray hiring Amellie Mauresmo as his head coach several months ago, yet it is a decision that has bothered several notable Spanish members, including Rafael Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni Nadal.
“I believe she doesn’t know the players, at least Rafael, and there is a logistical difficulty that is difficult to solve, because in the Davis Cup a lot of time is spent in locker rooms without much clothing and with a woman it would always be weird.”
However, Murray was quick to show his support
congrats to Gala Leon Garcia for becoming first female Spanish Davis cup captain today… hopefully first of many!
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) September 22, 2014
Join the Stevegtennis.com tennis club for free. Just enter your email below for...
- Tennis news updates once a week.
- Special offers on tennis gear.
- Unsubscribe at any time.
- We will never share your email.