The Spaniard has enjoyed a glittering 23-year career, but the injuries have finally caught up to him and now he is prepared to bid an emotional farewell to the sport.

One of those most impacted by the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s announcement is his uncle Toni, who coached him for the vast majority of his career.

What did Toni Nadal say Rafael Nadal wanted to do before retirement?

Rafael Nadal made plenty of wonderful memories throughout his career with his uncle and former coach by his side.

They won 14 Grand Slams together and under the tutelage of Toni he became the greatest clay court player of all time.

The 63-year-old issued a touching tribute to Nadal following his retirement announcement and during an interview with Marca, Toni indicated that his nephew dreamed of another strong season on his favourite surface before hanging up his racket.

But unfortunately, his body would not allow him. “Rafa would have liked another good season on clay and that means winning or at least performing at a good level,” the elder Nadal said. “He has not retired as he would have liked.

“I always told him not to complain because life has treated us better than we expected. Looking back now, you can say why he put it off, but Rafa had the hope of still giving his best version and when he was not convinced, he retired.

“It’s just that his body doesn’t respond. When he forces his body, it suffers from one part or another. The same thing happened to [Roger] Federer, he tried for two years and left.”

How long did Toni Nadal coach Rafael Nadal for?

Toni Nadal and Rafael Nadal became arguably the most successful player and coach pair in tennis history.

Toni coached his nephew for the first 16 years of his career before Carlos Moya took over the reins.

Nadal won 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles with his uncle, which was the most successful player-coach pair in history until Marián Vajda and Novak Djokovic won their 17th major title together at the 2020 Australian Open.

It was in late February 2017 that uncle Toni announced he would no longer be on his nephew’s coaching staff, putting Moya in complete charge of Nadal, who the player also had plenty of success with.

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