It’s time to take a look back at the journey of a kid from Mallorca, Spain who later on went on to become a legend in the racquet sport. While we do that, the first person who enters the frame apart from his parents is Rafael Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal! Toni was the one who introduced him to tennis when he was just three years old. Nadal started playing tennis at the Manacor Tennis Club, where his uncle worked as a coach. From being a promising lad to becoming a 22-time Grand Slam champion, Toni Nadal has seen it all from a very close distance. What does he have to say about the current status of his relationship with his nephew?

There was once a time when Toni Nadal described Rafael Nadal as a “mummy’s boy.” However, then we saw Rafa turning into a ‘raging bull’ on the court, by becoming one of the most ferociously competitive athletes of his generation. Nadal once spoke about how his uncle used to shout and try to frighten him, during the training. However, at the end of the day, it was all because he wanted his nephew to become one of the best in business. Further reflecting on that, Toni once said, “I was hard on him, but not strict. I was tough for his greater good.“

Even when it came it discipline, Toni Nadal once warned his nephew that if he ever broke a racquet in anger, their coaching relationship would be over. “You throw one racket and I’m no longer your coach. There are millions of kids in the world who would love a racket and don’t have one,” said Toni to 6-year-old Rafa. However, their partnership lasted for quite a few years after that, until Toni Nadal himself decided to step down from the role in February 2017. How is his relationship with Rafael Nadal at the moment, though? “Before I had a closer relationship with Rafael because I was constantly with him, but now I have less of it, of course. We have an uncle-nephew relationship,” said Toni in a recent interview on Radio MARCA.

Why did Toni Nadal stop coaching Rafael Nadal, though? Well, Toni Nadal now works at the Rafael Nadal Academy in Manacro and is the part-time coach of Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime. He was the mainstay of the Nadal team all the way until December 2016, when Rafa decided to bring in the former world number one, Carlos Moya to his team. Speaking on his decision to step down from the role, Toni Nadal later revealed, “I step down, but (Rafael) is in good hands. It has been a very long journey, loads of seasons. If instead of my nephew, I had coached somebody else, I would have stepped down much earlier.“

He also cited frequent travels and constant stress as the two other primary reasons behind his decision at that time. What does Rafael Nadal think about the contribution of his uncle to his illustrious career? 

Rafael Nadal reflects on his thoughts about the impact of his uncle on his career

During their 27-year-long partnership, Toni Nadal helped his nephew clinch almost 20 Grand Slam titles. So, during Rafael Nadal’s farewell speech, Toni got a special mention from the tennis star. Nadal said, “I had the luck that I had my uncle who was a tennis coach in my village when I was a very, very small kid. And I had a great family that I had the chance to support me in every single moment.” There were days when he used to cry after coming back from the training sessions. Such was the intensity of the training sessions conducted by his uncle.

However, the 38-year-old perhaps now realized how valuable were these tough lessons to make him the beast that he is today. However, this isn’t the first time he has been seen heaping praise on his uncle for his contributions to his career. In 2020, during an interview with GQ, he was asked who is the most important person in his career. 

In reply to that, Rafael Nadal stated, “Toni, sportingly speaking, is the most important person in my life without any doubt, without Toni, I would not even be a tennis player. It was he who decided I wanted to step aside and focus more on the Academy or be more at home.” Talking about his relationship with Toni, he further added, “I have always said that I am before a nephew, a relative, than his pupil He is much earlier my uncle than my coach.” Do you think Toni Nadal has been the most important figure in the making of this tennis great from Mallorca?