“He told me a month ago,” Uncle Toni Nadal reveals he knew about Rafael Nadal’s final tournament of his career
Rafael Nadal told his uncle Toni Nadal about the final tournament of his career one month ago as the King of Clay announced his retirement.
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Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal (Images via Rafa Nadal Academy, X)
The tennis community had already anticipated that Rafael Nadal in the near future would hang up his racket, and the Spaniard on 10th October posted a video on his social media that sent shockwaves throughout the tennis world. Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal, however, knew that the tennis legend would announce his retirement this month.
Nadal’s final tournament of his career will be the Davis Cup in Malaga in November. Before that, the King of Clay will also feature in the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition event in Riyadh this month. Toni, who was one of the major pillars of success in Nadal’s career, knew beforehand about the tennis legend’s final tournament of his career.
I didn’t know he was going to make it today; he notified us this morning in the family group. I knew he was retiring; he told me a month ago it would be at the Davis Cup and asked me not to speak about it to anyone.
Toni Nadal told El Larguero
Nadal will retire as the winner of 22 Grand Slams, the second-most in the history of men’s tennis after Novak Djokovic‘s 24. The 38-year-old, since turning pro in 2001, has lifted 92 titles, which is the fifth most in the Open Era.
Toni Nadal reveals Rafael Nadal wanted to play on clay for the last time
In the same interview, Toni Nadal revealed how Rafael Nadal was disappointed about not being able to compete on clay for the last time. Nadal, as tennis fans know very well, has clinched a record 14 titles at the French Open and has won 112 of his 116 matches at Roland Garros.
Rafa wanted to carry on; he leaves with the disappointment of not having been able to complete one last season on clay, which I believe was his hope. He tried to prepare himself to arrive well in Paris but faced issues, and in the first round, he drew one of the best players on the circuit.
Toni Nadal said
Nadal did play on the clay swing this season, starting from the Barcelona Open where he made his much-awaited comeback post injury troubles. He continued to participate in the next few tournaments on the red dirt but wasn’t able to play to his full potential.
He skipped Wimbledon and instead came to Bastad for the Nordea Open and reached his first final of the season. The main reason behind his participation was to prepare for the Paris Olympics, where he played both singles and doubles.
In singles, Nadal reached the second round but failed to go past Novak Djokovic (who later won the gold medal). He played doubles with Carlos Alcaraz and the pair made it to the quarterfinals.
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Gouri Das
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