‘Idea of Rafael’s Father and Rafael’: Toni Nadal Explains Why Rafael Nadal Started the Rafa Nadal Academy

Toni Nadal has been a coach to one of the greatest players of all time, Rafael Nadal. Toni first introduced him to the sport and served as his coach for more than two decades. Even though Uncle Toni, in 2017, announced that he will no longer accompany Rafael Nadal on the tour, the two still share a warm bond. Toni Nadal currently serves as the Head of Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy. 

In a recent interview, talking to Daniel Spatz, the legendary coach spoke about the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy. He explained how the institution was formed. 

How was the idea of Rafa Nadal Academy born?  

The interview started with the two talking about Toni’s family and how Toni has been keeping himself busy. The two next spoke about how different it is for Toni to see Nadal on TV as compared to watching him live. 

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After that, Toni was asked about how the idea for the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy originated. 

Toni answered the question by crediting Rafael Nadal and his father for the idea’s inception. He also spoke about what was going on inside Rafael’s mind when creating the academy. 

“The academy is an idea of Rafael’s father and Rafael, basically. Rafael wanted to continue involved in the world of tennis when this is over and well and the idea of creating a sports center came up for someone in the town and happy with how it is going,” said the 60-year-old. 

(Quotes have been translated using YouTube auto-translate)

Toni Nadal raising Rafael Nadal

Toni Nadal introduced Rafael Nadal to tennis when he was only 4-years-old. Holding his hand and giving him utmost guidance on every step, the Toni-Rafa duo became one of the most successful coach-player teams the sport has ever seen. Nadal won 16 Grand Slam tournaments along with a long list of other titles while working with Toni.

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Toni is currently coaching the Canadian youngster Felix-Auger Aliassime, who recently won his first career title in Rotterdam.