An emotional farewell from Uncle Toni to Rafael Nadal | ATP Tour

Rafael Nadal

An emotional farewell from Uncle Toni to Rafael Nadal

The Spanish coach shares thoughts and anecdotes about his nephew

October 20, 2024

“Thank you”, Toni Nadal wrote on Instagram when his nephew Rafael Nadal announced that he was retiring from tennis on October 10. One week later, the Spanish coach gave an emotional response with a three-page post full of emotional messages from the year-old Grand Slam champion which is 22.

“There are players who, because of their great skill, have been able to become champions in their training. “Some of them have been able to grow or go beyond sports, while a few because of their attitude and the way they work have gone beyond sports itself and become a good example in society,” said Toni in this capacity.

“I think, without fear of speaking out of turn, and freely accept any criticism that may happen to me after saying this as his uncle, that my nephew, like his great rival for many years, Roger Federer, makes the last part. category.”

Toni, who coached Rafa from childhood and on the ATP Tour until 2017, has no doubts about his reasons for his statement. The main thing is that his 38-year-old nephew, despite his success in sports, has inspired millions of people to never give up hope, regardless of the obstacles on the way.

“Today I can emphasize that Rafael fulfilled his promise to me a few years ago in the discussion we had at the club,” said Toni. “I told him that a well-known former player had admitted to me that he was not satisfied with his tennis career. His only real regret, instead of not winning more titles, was his lack of patience.

“Because of my fear, I begged my nephew to never make that mistake and, with more conviction than I expected, Rafael replied: ‘Don’t worry, Toni. When my time comes, I will have the peace of mind that I have given everything.’

The numbers he left behind show how true he was to his word. Currently the male player with the second Grand Slam titles (only behind Novak Djokovic’s 24), Nadal was No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for 209 weeks and won 92 tour-level titles, and 1,092 matches. , all despite a long list of casualties.

“Something else happened that made him delay his farewell. He learned for many years to live with pain, he overcame it many times and, despite doubts and uncertainties, he was sometimes able to face it not only with victory, but with even more strength,” added Toni in his writing.

“In difficult times, I repeated to him what I have written here now: ‘Rafael, life has treated us better than we expected and better than we deserved.’ Rafael’s work has been very successful, he far exceeded my expectations, as I always had strong faith in him.”

Rafael Nadal recently drew comparisons at the Paris Olympics, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the second round; and on the ATP Tour at the ATP 250 in Bastad, where he lost to Nuno Borges in the final. His last Davis Cup appearance was in November, when he played in Malaga, Spain.

There, he will put the icing on the amazing work he started preparing with his uncle when he was young in Manacor.

“Today my mind is full of unpleasant pictures, memories, moments that I experienced and shared with Rafael,” said Toni.

“Everything that has happened between those years and this last point, from his first win in the Under-12 and Under-14 championships, which gave us a glimpse of what is to come, to his last big win in Melbourne again. Paris, is the embodiment of an almost perfect dream. “