Toni Nadal discloses the message he always told Rafael Nadal which was key to his successful tennis career.
Nadal played for over two decades and during that time captured 22 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals.
For the majority of his tennis career, Nadal was coached by his uncle, who began teaching his nephew how to play tennis at the age of four.
What message did Toni Nadal tell Rafael Nadal ‘many times’ during his career?
Rafael Nadal and Toni Nadal enjoyed a very successful player and coach relationship for a number of years.
They won 16 Grand Slam titles together before Carlos Moya took over in 2017 and helped guide Nadal to more success.
While reflecting on his nephew’s career, the 63-year-old named some of his favourite matches that he witnessed from the coach’s box and recalled something he always told the former World number one that was pivotal to his success.
“I’ll remember, of course, the [2008] Wimbledon final, the Roland Garros finals, the tournaments in Monte-Carlo,” he told the ATP Tour. “But above all, I’ll remember the process that led to Rafael achieving those victories.
“I’ve said to him many times: If you don’t like the process, it’ll be hard for you to like the result. I always placed a lot of value on the process we went through.
“Since I stopped coaching Rafael, I sometimes remember victories from long ago, but also practice sessions at Club Tenis Manacor, when Rafael was still a boy, trying to improve his forehand and his backhand.”
Toni Nadal shares when he knew Rafael Nadal was going to retire
The tennis world was left saddened when Nadal announced he was going to be retiring from the sport.
Nadal announced on social media in October that he would bring his career to an end, and plenty of tributes soon followed.
His uncle and former coach Toni, disclosed when he knew about Nadal’s plans to officially end his career in 2024.
“A few months ago Rafael told me that he was thinking about retiring,” Toni said. “He wanted to do it in Malaga during the Davis Cup.
“Of course, it was something that was more or less expected. “We knew that the decision would come sooner or later. I found out a few months ago because Rafael came to tell me.”
