Toni’s emotional farewell letter to Rafa Nadal | ATP Tour

Toni Nadal

Toni’s emotional farewell letter to Rafa Nadal

The Spanish coach tells anecdotes and reflects on his nephew

October 18, 2024

“Thank you,” wrote Toni Nadal on Instagram when his nephew Rafael announced his retirement from professional tennis, on October 10. A week later, the Spanish coach has expanded his reflection with a three-page post full of moving messages for the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

“There are athletes who, due to their great abilities, have managed to be leaders in their discipline; a few others who have managed to enhance and even transcend their own sport; and only a few, who, due to their attitude and way of proceeding, have transcended the mere sporting field and have become references for society,” Toni pointed out in the writing.

“I believe, without fear of being wrong and openly accepting the criticism that may come with stating this as I am his uncle, that my nephew, like his greatest rival for many years, Roger Federer, falls within this last category.”

Toni, who trained Rafa since he was a child and guided him on the ATP Tour until 2017, is very clear about the reasons why he states this. The main one is that his 38-year-old nephew, beyond so many sporting successes, inspired millions to never give up, no matter how much adversity there was along the way.

“Today I can firmly affirm that Rafael has fulfilled what he promised me a few years ago in a conversation we had in a section of a club. I told him that a well-known former tennis player had confessed to me the dissatisfaction his tennis career caused him. With remarkable sincerity he had regretted, not for not having achieved more titles, but for his lack of perseverance.”

“Out of fear, I urged my nephew not to make that mistake and, with more zeal than I expected, Rafael replied: ‘Calm down, Toni. When I leave here it will be with the peace of mind of having tried everything.’”

The numbers prove that he delivered. In addition to being the second player with the most Grand Slam titles today (only surpassed by Novak Djokovic’s 24), Nadal spent a total of 209 weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, and won 92 ATP Tour titles. , as well as 1,092 matches. All this despite his countless injuries.

“Another circumstance has arisen that has led him to prolong his farewell: [Rafael] “He learned for many years to live with pain, he managed to master it on many occasions, and he saw how, despite doubts and uncertainties, he sometimes emerged not only victorious but also strengthened,” Toni added in his publication.

“In difficult moments, I used to repeat to him a phrase that I have already written here: ‘Rafael, life has treated us better than we expected and much better than we deserved.’ Rafael’s career has been very successful, far exceeding my expectations even though I have always had unwavering faith in him.”

Rafa Nadal last competed professionally at the Olympic Games, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the second round; and on the ATP Tour at the ATP 250 in Bastad, where he lost in the final to Nuno Borges. His last appearance will be the Davis Cup in November when he plays the finals in Malaga for Spain.

Just their last event starts in a month. There he will close a brilliant path that he began to carve with the guidance of his uncle during his childhood in Manacor.

“Today my mind has been filled with nostalgic images, memories, moments lived and shared with Rafael,” Toni also reflected.

“Everything that has happened between those distant years and the present final point, from his first victories in the youth and children’s tournaments that made us foreshadow what would happen later until his last great triumphs in Melbourne or Paris, is the manifestation of a almost perfect dream.”