RAFAEL NADAL’S uncle Toni has revealed that he has not watched his nephew’s emotional retirement video.
The legendary Spaniard, 38, announced yesterday that he will hang up his racquet after competing at next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
Uncle Toni began working with Nadal when he was just a toddler, and remained a full-time member of his team until 2017.
He has since taken up a more prominent role within Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, although he has also worked with world No22 Felix Auger-Aliassime.
During Nadal’s emotional five-minute retirement video, he paid a special tribute to his Uncle Toni.
He said: “My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis.
“I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.”
Speaking to Spanish outlet Marca this weekend, Uncle Toni revealed that he has not watched the video.
Asked about it, the 63-year-old said: “I can’t tell you because I haven’t seen it yet. I haven’t seen the video, nor am I going to see it.”
Quizzed further on how he received the news, Uncle Toni added: “I knew the words because he had told me almost a month ago that he had made the decision to leave tennis, to end his career and to do it here in Malaga, but I didn’t know about the video.
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“He told us in a family chat, he told the family that this video would come out in a few hours and that he was announcing his retirement.”
On how he felt when hearing the news, he added: “Well, first of all, excitement, some sadness because although we had quite accepted it, nostalgic memories always come back to you, but I accepted it normally.”
While working with Auger-Aliassime at Roland Garros in 2022, Uncle Toni watched on as the Canadian faced his nephew in the fourth round.
Ahead of the match, Toni admitted that he wanted Rafa to win, rather than the player he was coaching.
Rather than sit in Auger-Aliassime’s player box, or Nadal’s, Toni caused a further stir by sitting front and centre of the posh seats.
As the five-set epic went on, Toni left the dramatic encounter.
Nadal went on to win the match on the way to his 14th and final Roland Garros title, with Toni having been in his team for the first 10 of them.
The 22-time Major champion added former world No1 Carlos Moya to his coaching set-up in 2016, with pal Marc Lopez then coming on board in 2021.
Since January 2023, Nadal has been limited to just 19 singles matches due to a series of injuries.
He made his final Roland Garros appearance in May, losing to fourth seed Alexander Zverev in four sets.
Nadal reached a final tour level final in his subsequent event in Bastad, beating Bjorn Borg’s son Leo on his way before losing to Nuno Borges.
The Spain icon then carried the Olympic torch in Paris, beating Marton Fucsovics in round one of the singles before losing to old rival Novak Djokovic.
He played alongside reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the doubles at Paris 2024, with the pair dubbed “Nadalcaraz” thrilling crowds before falling in the quarter finals.
At the Davis Cup Finals, fans could be treated to one last glimpse of “Nadalcaraz”.
Although Nadal may not just be limited to doubles, with Spain captain David Ferrer having already told him to prepare for singles too.
RAFAEL NADAL announced his retirement from professional tennis at the end of the 2024 season.
He released an emotional, five-minute video confirming his decision to hang up his racquets after 23 years on the ATP Tour and 22 Grand Slam titles.
Here’s what he 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 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.
But I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country.
I think I’ve come full circle, since one of my first great joys as a professional tennis player was the Davis Cup final in Sevilla in 2004.
I feel super, super lucky for all the things I’ve been able to experience. I want to thank the entire tennis industry.
All the people involved in this sport: my long-term colleagues, especially my great rivals.
I have spent many, many hours with them, and I have lived many moments that I will remember for the rest of my life.
Talking about my team is a little bit more difficult for me because in the end my team has been a very important part of my life.
They are not just co-workers, they are friends.
They have been by my side at all the times I have really needed them.
Very bad moments. Very good moments. Moments when I had to be pushed. Moments they gave me more slack.
We have lived so much together that it is hard to explain.
My family is everything to me.
My mother. I think she has made all the sacrifices she had to make so that we would always have everything.
My wife, Mery, we’ve been together for 19 years. Thank you for everything you have done.
I think you’ve been the perfect travel companion during all these years of (my) career.
To come home and see how my son is growing every day has been a force that has really kept me alive and with the necessary energy to continue.
My sister, I think we have always had an incredible relationship.
My uncle, who is the reason I started playing tennis.
I believe that thanks to him, I have also been able to overcome many situations that have been difficult in my sporting career.
And to my father, who I believe has been a source of inspiration for me in every sense of the word.
I think he has been an example of effort, of overcoming.
Many, many thanks to my father in a very, very special way.
And finally, you, the fans.
I can’t thank you enough for what you have made me feel.
You have given me the energy I have needed at every moment.
Really, everything I have experienced has been a dream come true.
I leave with the absolute peace of mind of having given my best, of having made an effort in every way.
I can only end by saying a thousand thanks to all and see you soon.
