Rafael Nadal’s recent coaching/advisory stint with Iga Swiatek at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy raised questions about whether the 22-time Grand Slam champion was considering a full-time coaching role in the near future.
Nadal has been serving tennis as a player for the last two decades. Now that he has retired, his uncle Toni Nadal thinks, the 14-time Roland Garros champion has other priorities.
Recently, during Fan Week in Barcelona, Toni highlighted the struggles that tennis coaches face, and he eliminated the thought of his nephew ever becoming a coach.
“No, because his life is geared towards other things,” Toni said via Mundo Deportivo. “It’s very difficult. A coach has to be 100% dedicated. With all the travel that entails. My nephew has quite a few personal responsibilities. He spent over twenty years on the track, now he has many other things that demand a lot of his time, besides being very happy with his family, with his children. And the life of a coach isn’t easy either; there are more and more changes all the time.”
Toni also suggested how difficult it is to coach these days, with ego and respect a big matter of concern when dealing with modern players.
“These days it’s more difficult,” Toni added. “I experienced the changes under Lennart Bergelin and ‘Pato’ Álvarez, coaches who wouldn’t let their players say anything. That’s not the point, but respect has to go both ways. And there should be more respect for older people, in any case.
“These days it’s difficult to work with certain people. And there are more coaching changes. When something goes wrong, it’s blamed on the coach; people don’t accept personal responsibility as much. I don’t know any coach who tells his player to kick the ball out of bounds. If you miss, it’s your fault, I told Felix one day. Don’t make any more excuses.”
Rafael Nadal’s Uncle Toni Reveals Reason Behind 22-time GS Winner Working With Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek is struggling with form. After her shocking Miami Open early exit, she fired Wim Fissette and hired Francisco Roig, who was Rafael Nadal’s coach for a long time.
The partnership entailed Swiatek coming to the Rafa Nadal Academy and taking some notes from Nadal himself. Talking about Nadal working with Swiatek at his academy, Toni simply sees his passion for the sport motivating him to be still involved with the sport.
“Swiatek asked Rafael if she could go to the academy for some advice and a coach. He told her Francis Roig. And he, as someone involved in tennis for so long, likes to get involved, even if only minimally,” Toni said.
It remains to be seen how well Swiatek is able to follow up on Nadal’s advice and produce great returns in the ongoing clay season.
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