News that has stunned everyone in the tennis world and which could mark the end of an era as far as Nadal is concerned
A rather delicate moment that led to a separation that those in the know had been talking about for some time but which had never been made official. In the end, the mixed results of the last period made it inevitable.
A truly complicated moment for the “brand” Nadal in tennis. Yes because the situation for Rafa is not the best and now also for Uncle Toni hard times are coming. The 22-time Slam winner is realizing that his body no longer responds as he would like and any attempt to get back on track is proving difficult.
In Madrid he showed up ready to test his condition ahead of Rome and Paristhe but after victories against De Minaur and Cachin he had to surrender in the third round to Lehečka. A defeat in two sets (7-5, 6-4) which once again showed the limitations that accompany Rafa at this stage.
The magnificent player admired for the last 20 years is just a distant memory and, unfortunately, the many injuries he suffered have taken away his continuity in the game. Going forward like this becomes difficult and some even talk about participation at risk for the Roland Garros. .
Nadal, the announcement leaves everyone surprised
Even uncle Toni, who won an impressive 16 Slam titles (as a coach) with Rafa, certainly cannot smile. Since April 2021 he had become coach of Felix Auger-Aliassime. Together they had done an excellent job, growing in various aspects and competing with the best in the world with the Canadian reaching the top 10 in the ranking
Auger-Aliassime, finalist in Madrid after a long period of ups and downs, has fallen beyond thirtieth position and this certainly cannot be positive for a tennis player with his ambition and talent. This is why he decided to stop working with Toni Nadal and to undertake a new technical path.
The announcement took everyone by surprise: “My coach, Frédéric Fontang, has been here (Madrid, ed.) since the start of the tournament, and with him my physiotherapist and a dear friend of mine, while Toni is at home”. Then he added: “I still feel with him but at the moment he is no longer an active part of my team”.
As external consultancy he could still be useful to the Canadian but certainly the coaching job has now passed into other hands. That growth process that everyone predicted for Aliassime was in fact not completed in the way we expected even if there is still time to remedy it.
