22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has announced he will retire from professional tennis at the end of this season. The 38-year-old will represent Spain in his final tournament at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month. The former World No.1 has struggled with injuries severely limiting his time on the court over the past two seasons. In a video message, he stated, “The reality is that it has been some difficult years, the last two especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations.”
Toni Nadal’s Insights on Rafael’s Injury Struggles
In light of Nadal’s retirement, his uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, provided insights into the extent of his nephew’s injuries. “Rafael got used to playing with pain, but I told his father that if we had retired every time he had problems he would have five or six fewer Grand Slam titles. Since 2005, he has been practically incapable of finishing a training session or playing a Grand Slam match without taking painkillers.” The 63-year-old revealed to Marca (Toni gave the interview in Spanish; translation are from LWOT’s own Manuel Traquete). He noted that since 2005, the 22-time Grand Slam champion could not complete 90% of his training sessions due to injuries and often relied on painkillers just to compete in Grand Slam matches.
Toni explained how Rafael’s resilience became a burden. The problem he had is that he got used to playing through pain and saw how it mostly made him stronger. He thought it would be the same this time, but now after the knee it was the hip that hurt.” He criticized the modern game, stating, “Current tennis is the worst because of the speed it is played at; as the ball moves faster, movements are more abrupt and sooner or later you will make a movement that will cause serious injury.”
At one point, many thought that Rafael would finish his career before his great rival Roger Federer. The Swiss had many years without any major injury setbacks and Rafael saw injury after injury. Hence, the fact that the Spaniard made it beyond the Swiss Maestro’s career is itself an achievement. Rafael Nadal was present at Federer’s retirement tournament at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Toni and Rafael Nadal’s Journey
Toni coached Rafael from childhood until 2017, helping him win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. After stepping down, he became the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. Despite their professional separation, the 38-year-old expressed no resentment towards his uncle’s decision, recognizing that Toni should pursue other projects. Before the directorship at Rafa’s academy, Toni also coached Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Toni’s departure was marked by a moment of regret, as he chose not to inform Rafael of his decision until it was publicly announced. The Olympic Gold Medalist acknowledged that had the elder Spaniard not been his uncle, he might have replaced him during tough seasons. In 2016, Rafael brought on former world No. 1 Carlos Moya to join his coaching team. Under Moya, Nadal won eight Grand Slam titles since 2017.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
