Rafael Nadal’s uncle has made a heartbreaking admission about his nephew’s career, revealing he has never been able to watch back one of his matches because it is too painful.
While there have been a plethora of memorable victories to celebrate across the Spaniard’s glittering career, his family have been there for the torturous moments too.
That includes his closest confidant, Toni Nadal, his uncle and long-time coach, who is often seen sitting in the stands.
The 63-year-old tennis guru has attended hundreds of Nadal’s matches – but he has never been able to put himself through the agony of rewatching the 2012 Australian Open final.
Nadal was beaten by Novak Djokovic in a five-set thriller in Melbourne that lasted five hours and 53 minutes, as the Serbian recorded an exhausting 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory.
To this day, it remains one of the most epic finals ever played at a Grand Slam. But Nadal’s mentor says he found the experience too painful to consider watching a replay.
The worst loss was against Djokovic at the 2012 Australian Open,” Toni said, speaking to Marca about Rafa’s career. “I never saw that match again because I left devastated.”
The 38-year-old will leave tennis as one of sport’s greatest-ever players with 22 Majors to his name, including 14 French Open titles.
Only three players have ever beaten him on the Roland Garros clay: Djokovic (on two occasions in 2015 and 2019), Robin Soderling in 2009 and Alexander Zverev in 2021. His record stands at 112 victories and four defeats.
Nadal hasn’t triumphed in Paris since 2022, however, after being sidelined by a spate of recent injuries. He suffered from abdominal, knee and hip issues and fell down to 666th in the ATP rankings as a result in 2023.
an astonishing revelation, the injury-plagued star has been playing through the pain barrier for nearly 19 years, with fitness problems even affecting him during practice, according to his uncle.
“Since 2005, Rafa has been unable to finish 90 per cent of training sessions because of injuries,” he added. “He took painkillers in every Grand Slam.
“The problem he had is that he got used to playing with pain and saw that most of the time, he came out stronger. He thought that this time it would be the same, and what happened is that now after the knee, it [the pain] came to the hip.”
Nadal announced on October 9 that he will retire from professional tennis in November following the conclusion of the Davis Cup, where he will be desperate to win one final trophy before bowing out of the sport for good.
