Javier Piles Císcar was born in Valencia in 1968. His father’s fondness for tennis, was well known, and all five of his children were familiar with the racket. “I knew how to use a racket since I jumped out of the crib, ” laughs Piles.

In 1992, Piles joined Jose Maria Oltra on a school project competition launched by the Valencian Tennis Federation. “I spent four years in the Spanish Club courts, dealing mainly with Juan Giner, Manu and Pepe Fibla,” he says. Javi’s coaching skills paid off; Pepe, the older brother of Fernando Vicente Fibla, became one of the best players in the world for several years, as did Juan Giner (ranked 150) and Manu (ranked 282). All three of them, were trained exclusively by Javi.

At age 31, in 1999, Javi Piles realized he needed a change of scenery. And by luck, one day, appeared the parents of David Ferrer. “After his stay in Barcelona, ​​David had spent time in the Academy Equelite. He was rated a thousand-something in the ATP, having won his first ranking points in a satellite tournament. The parents saw that he needed something different to keep progressing, and I wanted to work with him. Denia was near his home in Javea, and it was a great location for me, too, ” says Piles.

Javi accepted the Ferrer’s offer, and began working with David. It is now a partnership going on 13 years, and David is currently ranked #5 in the ATP.

The David Channel