Following the departure of longtime ally Francis Roig from his coaching staff, Rafael Nadal has made a quick appointment.

The Argentine Gustavo Marcaccio will work with head coach Carlos Moya and assistant coach Marc Lopez under the guidance of the record-breaking 22-time men's grand slam singles champion.

After collaborating with the Spaniard since 2005, Roig said on Friday that he was leaving to embark on "a new project."

Marcaccio, 45, who has worked at Rafael Nadal's academy in Mallorca for the past 20 months, has agreed to fill in as the new ATP season is just days away from starting.

Marcaccio had a mostly undistinguished playing career, reaching a high of 284th on the rankings, but he has strong coaching credentials, having worked with the likes of Juan Monaco, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Guido Pella.

Nadal wrote on Twitter: "Hello everyone. I want to inform you of the incorporation of Gustavo Marcaccio to the technical team.

"Gustavo has been working at the @rafanadalacademy since April 2021 and I understand that he is a good addition to the team. I am sure he will help us a lot to follow the path. Welcome!"

Nadal will return to Melbourne as the defending champion at the Australian Open in January, having won that and the French Open in 2022 to move ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on the men's all-time grand slam list.