Toni Nadal reveals brutal extent of Rafael Nadal’s injury issues with astonishing insights
Toni Nadal has proclaimed that Rafael Nadal could have missed out on “five or six Grand Slam titles” if he decided to withdraw every time he had physical problems.
The uncle and former coach of Nadal divulged that the Spanish legend was unable to finish 90% of his training sessions during his career due to injuries.
Nadal announced last week that he will make the final appearance of his professional career next month at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
In a video shared on his social media accounts, Nadal said: “Hello everyone, I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis.
“The reality is that it has been some difficult years, these last two years especially. I don’t think I have been able to play without limitations. It is obviously a difficult decision, one that has taken me some time to make.
“But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it’s the appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”
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Nadal has suffered with injuries since his emergence on the tour, and he has been particularly hampered by his body during the latter stages of his career.
The 38-year-old has had to contend with a chronic foot condition called Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which he feared might force him to retire as early as 2005.
The former world No 1 has not played since the end of July, when he competed in singles and doubles at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. He has competed in seven events in 2024 after playing just four matches in 2023.
Toni Nadal, who coached Rafael Nadal from his childhood until 2017, stressed how much his nephew has had to suffer physically in his remarkable career.
“Rafael got used to playing with pain, but I told his father that if we had retired every time he had problems, he could have already lost five or six Grand Slam titles,” he told Marca.
“Since 2005, I would say that Rafa could not complete 90% of his training sessions because of injuries. [He was] unable to play a Grand Slam match without taking painkillers.
“The problem he had was that he got used to playing with pain and saw how most of the time he came out stronger. He thought that this time it would be the same and what happens is that, now after the knee, it came to the hip…”
The 63-year-old Mallorcan also asserted that competing in sport at the elite level is not healthy.
“It’s not healthy at all, the healthy thing is to go for a walk or do a little gym,” Nadal said.
“Today’s tennis is worse because of the speed at which it is played, as the ball goes faster the movements are more abrupt and sooner or later you make a movement that leads you to a serious problem.”
Toni Nadal coached his nephew to 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles. He is the director of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
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