The ‘tough love’ that shaped retiring great Nadal

Toni often jokes that he ticked two important boxes to be a good coach for Nadal.

“Firstly, I’m his uncle and it is harder to fire a relative than anyone else. The second is that I was the cheapest coach out there,” he says with deadpan delivery.

Nadal won 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles under his uncle’s watchful eye. In 2017, Toni decided he’d had enough of travelling across the world and retired from his role as Rafael’s head coach.

While it could be easy to presume from the stories that Toni was a tyrannical figure, demanding and irascible in equal measure, it is not a fair portrayal.

Nadal speaks about the “fun and magic” in their relationship, while those who know him well talk of a man who is serious and forthright, but also amenable, generous and with a sharp sense of humour.

“For all the haranguing I got from Toni, I am not one of those athletes whose life stories are all about overcoming dark beginnings in their rise to the top. I had a fairytale childhood,” Nadal wrote in his book.

The pair remain close – as does the whole Nadal clan, they all still live in Manacor – with Toni describing their relationship as a “normal” one between uncle and nephew.

When Rafael won his 10th French Open title in 2017 – Toni’s final Roland Garros as his coach – the beaming uncle came on to Court Philippe Chatrier to present the trophy. Pride shone across his face, love between the pair emanated as they shared a tight hug.

“If we could go back to when I started playing tennis with Rafael and you said he would win 22 Grand Slams, I would have said it was impossible,” says Toni.

“But now because of the path he has taken – winning Grand Slams almost every year and improving his tally – it feels normal.

“We have proven that a normal kid from Manacor – with effort, with sacrifice – has managed to achieve the many goals which he set when he was young.”

A version of this article was first published in May 2021.