Toni Nadal on training with Rafael Nadal: "Was a demanding coach - sometimes too hard"
During a training camp in Cancun, Toni Nadal talks to the Spanish news agency EFE about his training methods and how he sees the future of tennis.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 15, 2020, 08:57 am
There are not many players who, after their opponent already finds the first match ball at a score of 1: 5 in the decision set, manage to leave the court as the winner in the end. The man we're talking about is not like most players. The man turned 1: 5 to 7: 6 (4) in the ATP finals last year against Daniil Medvedev, won from a virtually hopeless position. We are talking about Rafael Nadal, the "Bull of Manacor", the mentality monster, the fighter. The list of epithets given to Rafael Nadal for his exceptional fighting performance over the years is a long one. And who, if not Toni Nadal, Rafa's uncle and longtime coach, is primarily responsible for which player has become his talented nephew.
It started a good 26 years ago, when Rafael Nadal was just seven years old when "Uncle Toni" took care of his nephew. The training that the young Mallorcan knew so far should change rapidly at this point in time: "I was an effort for him, was a demanding coach - sometimes too hard. I believe in toughness as a means, not as a result," said Toni Nadal talks to EFE about his training methods. The goal was to always get a little bit more out of every training session. Units characterized by pressure and extreme stress. In order to increase this, Toni Nadal was always a few steps behind his protégé to put additional pressure on him with the feeling that someone was watching him.
Training more difficult than European championships
With his nephew Rafael, Toni Nadal found the perfect protégé, someone who demanded a lot from himself when he was a boy: "Rafael was a boy who, from an early age, demanded the same from himself in the finals of the European Championship as in daily training, I believe that it was more difficult for Rafael to train with me than to play in the European Championship, "" Uncle Toni "told the Spanish agency. This, along with his talent and effort, is the main reason that Nadal became number one.
Uncle Toni sees it as unlikely to see a new Rafael Nadal in the future: "It is difficult that there is a new Rafael Nadal, because so far only one in Grand Slam successes, Roger Federer, has surpassed him," continued Toni Nadal out. This future will also include a change in sport, Toni Nadal is convinced: "All sports are moving towards higher speed, and this is the future of tennis, the players will be better prepared, physically stronger, and the ball will be hit faster, that's what I think the trend will be. " A change that does not necessarily make his long-term protégé lose, on the contrary: "But it is also true that the older generation will continue to win," Toni Nadal is convinced.