Uncle Toni details his nephew’s career-long injury agony

Toni Nadal has revealed the harsh reality of his nephew’s injury plagued career as the king of clay limps to the finishing line at next month’s Davis Cup Finals.

Rafael Nadal, 38, confirmed this week that he will wrap up his time on court as he plays a final time for Spain at home in Malaga.

The winner of 22 Grand Slam titles – 14 of them at Roland Garros – last competed in July when he lost to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics and likely started the mental process of winding down his career.after managing just four matches in 2023 and seven tournament entries this season.

His uncle, who coached him from 2005-2017, told Spain’s Marca of the agony Nadal suffered through for much of his run as part of the Big 3 or himself, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

He said that had Nadal listened to his body, he would have missed out on “five of six Grand Slam titles.”

Many of Nadal’s historical problems have been with his foot, where he suffers with Mueller-Weiss syndrome, a constant bother throughout his career from the start.

“Rafael got used to playing with pain, but I told his father that if we had retired every time he had problems, he could have already lost five or six Grand Slam titles,” the elder Nadal said.

“Since 2005, I would say that Rafa could not complete 90 per cent of his training sessions because of injuries, (and)unable to play a Grand Slam match without taking painkillers.

“The problem he had was that he got used to playing with pain and saw how most of the time he came out stronger.

“He thought that this time it would be the same and what happens is that, now after the knee, it came to the hip…”

Uncle Toni took the opportunity to call out the brutal pace and intensity of tennis, which he believes is responsible for many injuries among players.

“Today’s tennis is worse because of the speed at which it is played, as the ball goes faster the movements are more abrupt and sooner or later you make a movement that leads you to a serious problem.”

Main photo:- “Uncle Toni” practice session with Rafa Nadal in their heyday- by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd