A day has already passed since Rafael Nadal‘s last appearance in racquet sport. Millions of fans across the globe and thousands in the stands in Malaga witnessed the swansong of one of the GOATS of tennis’ open era. However, someone who’s extremely close to the King of Clay believes the farewell didn’t live up to Nadal’s glory. To put it simply, it wasn’t great enough.

On November 19th, Nadal stepped on the court for Spain to play the singles encounter against Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp. Contrary to expectations and insane hype, the 22-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t end his career on a high. Botic managed to beat him 6-4, 6-4 in straights sets. But more than the result, everyone present at the stadium in Malaga was eager to see the farewell ceremony. It saw Nadal reflecting on his achievements and the way forward. “I leave with the peace of mind I have left a legacy, which I really feel is not just a sporting one but a personal one,” he said in the farewell speech. Moreover, he expressed gratitude to everyone who supported him throughout his career. “The titles and the numbers are there, but the way I would like to be remembered is as a good person, just a kid from Mallorca who followed his dreams and achieved more than I could have ever imagined,” said Nadal. He was left in tears after seeing tribute messages from Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Andy Murray in video montage.

While many people felt touched with the ceremony, Rafa’s uncle and his former coach Toni Nadal didn’t. He felt as if the organizers didn’t do justice to the King of Clay’s legacy. In an interaction with El Larguero SER radio, as reported by Puntodebreak on November 21st, uncle Toni didn’t mince words while expressing a disappointment towards the tribute. When asked whether he liked it or not, Toni said, “No” and continued while saying, “It was moving, of course, with the support of the public, but it would have had another dimension with images.”

“I like to see images in these events, I would have liked to see images of Rafael winning the Davis Cup in Seville, of Rafael at the Madrid tournament, at Roland Garros or Wimbledon, because this creates more emotion,” he said. Toni implied that the impact was clearly missing from the images displayed – or the lack of them. Per him, it’s more convenient these days to simply mix music with images and present an emotional ceremony. However, “Rafael is a person whose images convey passion and emotion. If they had done this, it would have been more fitting,” he added. Meanwhile, Toni also expressed his thoughts on the reason behind Nadal taking a long time to retire.

Toni Nadal on what made Rafael Nadal take so long to announce his retirement

For those unaware, Nadal’s last major appearance was in July at the Swedish Open. Since then, he didn’t play professional matches, due to persistent injuries, until the Davis Cup QF against the Netherlands. During his time off the court, he didn’t really confirm his retirement. He only made it evident few weeks ahead of the Davis Cup, while sharing a message on social media. Commenting on the timing of Nadal’s decision, Toni said, “It was a foreseen outcome. We all knew that this day had to come. Seeing how the last few months unfolded, you could tell that things were not going well and I believe Rafael made the most appropriate decision.”

“It’s true that many people said he waited too long” but it’s simply because “he got used to pushing until the very end in everything, in his matches, in his recoveries… and he trusted that his body would hold up. This time it didn’t work out, so he did what needed to be done,” said Toni. He mentioned that Nadal was extremely passionate about tennis in his life. That’s why it took him so long to hang up his racket. After battling with injuries and his own physical limitations, he realized that it was best to call it a day.

While he’s now retired, it will be tough for his avid fans to actually realize that he won’t step on the court anymore. An irreplaceable void has been created and no one can fill it for a long time to come. And that is a certainty.