Rafael Nadal’s uncle and ex-coach Toni announces he will skip Spaniard's last match before retirement at Davis Cup Finals 2024; reveals reason

Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach Toni Nadal has shared that he will skip his nephew's swansong at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. The 22-time Grand Slam champion announced on October 10 that he would be hanging up his racket after the event.

Toni coached the Spanish legend since he started playing tennis, at the age of three, and the two went on to share one of the most prolific player-coach relationships in tennis winning numerous accolades including the career Golden Slam. However, Toni decided to part ways with his nephew in 2017, thus ending their partnership.

With Nadal's career coming to an end, his uncle has shared the unfortunate news that he won't be able to attend his nephew's final dance as he has some work in Rome during that period.

"I knew that at some point or another, that day of final retirement would come. Knowing that we will never see him in a competition again, the emotion will be there, but I have been getting used to the idea for some time now. I will miss it because I have work on those days and I have to be in Rome," he said to Radio Marca (translated from Spanish via lasexta.com).

Toni had also sent a one-word farewell message to his nephew when he announced his retirement.

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"It's been a long time since I saw him train so well" - Uncle Toni talks about Rafael Nadal training at a "very high level" ahead of Davis Cup Finals 2024

Uncle Toni looks on as his nephew practices (Source: Getty)

Continuing his thoughts, Toni said that he had seen Rafael Nadal train at a 'very high level', which he hadn't showcased in a long time. However, he took a step back to say that training and competing were different and urged the fans to wait and watch.

"I've seen him train these days and I've seen him train at a very high level. It's been a long time since I saw him train so well, but we have to wait and see because training is not the same as competing," he added.

The 38-year-old, a five-time Davis Cup winner will join Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista, Pablo Carreno Busta, and Marcel Granollers for his final campaign. They will be captained by David Ferrer.

The Davis Cup Finals knockouts will begin on November 19 in Malaga. Up first, Team Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.