Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach has revealed that he won’t attend the Spaniard’s emotional retirement tournament.
Toni Nadal introduced his nephew to tennis as a child. He then coached the former world No. 1 until the end of 2017 and was with him for 16 of his 22 Grand Slam title wins.
Ahead of the 38-year-old’s farewell at the Davis Cup, Toni has now explained why he will be forced to miss the team event.
Last month, Nadal announced that he would end his career on home soil at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The 38-year-old will be surrounded by friends and colleagues for his farewell.
Carlos Alcaraz and Roberto Bautista Agut will also be on the team while David Ferrer is the captain. Another retired Spanish player, Feliciano Lopez, is the tournament director. And even Novak Djokovic has committed to travelling to the tournament to send off his rival.
But arguably the most important person in Nadal’s career, his uncle Toni, won’t be there. The Mallorcan tennis coach revealed why he wouldn’t be able to make it to the Davis Cup.
“I knew that at one time or another that day of final retirement would come,” he told Radio Marca.
“Knowing that we will never see him in a competition again, the emotion will be there, but I have been getting used to the idea for some time now.”
While Toni has already come to terms with his nephew’s retirement, his work commitments mean he won’t be there to witness Nadal’s farewell in person.
He added: “I will miss it because I have work in those days and I have to be in Rome.”
But Nadal’s former coach has seen him practising for Davis Cup in his Mallorcan academy and he’s impressed by the former world No. 1’s level.
“I’ve seen him train these days and I’ve seen him train at a very high level,” he said. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him train so well, but we have to wait and see because training is not the same as competing.”
Spain will face the Netherlands in their knockout quarter-final match on November 19. It’s not known whether Nadal will play singles or doubles while representing his country.
But he previously admitted he wouldn’t compete if he didn’t think he could help the team win. During his recent appearance at the Six Kings Slam, he said: “I will try to be in good shape to help the team to win.
“If I don’t feel ready for the singles, I’ll be the first one to say. Be 100 per cent sure, I will not be on court if I don’t feel ready to win my match.”
