"There are moments where I look at Rafa and I can see that he's crying" - Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni says his nephew gets nervous during matches
Despite being one of the best players of all time, Rafael Nadal still gets nervous during his matches, as recently revealed by his former coach and uncle Toni Nadal.
Toni started working with Rafa when the latter was just three years old. While he always knew that his nephew would become a great player, the 61-year-old never imagined him to win so many Majors and be as successful as he is.
Rafael Nadal, currently the World No. 6, won a total of 16 Majors under his uncle's guidance. The two parted ways in 2017, and in 2021, Toni joined Felix Auger-Aliassime's team.
In the recently released Netflix tennis documentary Break Point, Toni was shown talking to the 22-year-old Canadian player about dealing with nerves before and during big matches. He also stated that his nephew Rafa still gets nervous, to the point where he starts crying.
"There are moments during matches where, I don't know about you, but I know Rafael gets nervous. There are moments where I look at Rafa and I can see that he's crying," Toni said.
This Netflix scene was short but powerful.
Toni says pre-match jitters sometimes made Rafa cry & that’s inspiring to people like me: although his rational mind knows he handles challenges well, Rafa still gets extremely nervous & that’s okay.
He always survives & we can too. https://t.co/cH6mILpf56
After losing in the first round of the French Open in both 2020 and 2021, Auger-Aliassime reached the fourth round in the 2022 edition. When Toni asked him if he got nervous before his matches, the Canadian said:
"I'm alright. During the first few days. It's good stress."
Nadal and Auger-Aliassime clashed in the fourth round of the 2022 French Open, where the Spaniard won. However, Auger-Aliassime did become only the third player ever - after John Isner and Novak Djokovic - to push the 14-time Roland Garros champion to a fifth set in Paris.
Before the match, when Toni was asked who he was going to support, he stated that he wanted his nephew to win. That drew a lot of criticism from the tennis world, as many questioned his professionalism. Some fans even urged Auger-Aliassime to fire Toni from his job.
Rafael Nadal is not thinking about retirement, says his uncle
Weighing in on the GOAT debate, Toni Nadal recently suggested that Novak Djokovic had a greater chance of ending up with the most Grand Slam titles. However, he added that his nephew wasn't thinking about retiring yet.
"It'll be difficult because Djokovic is fresher than him," Toni said. "He'll have a chance at Roland-Garros, so we'll see. Ultimately, it'll be a complicated fight against a great champion like Djokovic. He knows that his career, whatever he does from here on out, has been a great one.
"For now, it's just about making the effort to continue, as he has been doing for a long time now. The word 'retirement' is not on Rafa's mind."
Rafael Nadal failed to defend his title at the 2023 Australian Open as he suffered a hip injury during his second-round defeat to America's Mackenzie McDonald. The Spaniard is expected to return to the tour in March, but faces the risk of falling out of the top 10 rankings for the first time since April 25, 2005.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open and equalled Nadal's record of 22 Majors.