Uncle Toni busts popular myth about Rafael Nadal's lefty style of play

Rafael Nadal's uncle and long-time coach Toni Nadal spoke at length with Blick about the things he taught his nephew during their long and successful partnership together. Toni busted a popular myth about Rafael Nadal's left-handedness, and also revealed that he never charged a single penny for his coaching services.

Toni said that he wanted to maintain his sense of independence and free will, and that accepting any kind of fees from Rafa would have compromised that.

The Director of the Rafa Nadal Academy further said that a family business he inherited from Rafael Nadal's father allowed him to sustain himself while focusing on his nephew's tennis.

"He never paid me a single euro. That is what allowed me to have total independence . If I had had to depend on his salary, I would have accepted things that I was not willing to accept. By not allowing him to pay me, I bought my freedom of expression and independence. Rafael's father and I inherited a family business and agreed that he would take care of it and I of the tennis."

Toni Nadal über Neffe Rafa: «Mit netten Worten erreicht man nichts» https://t.co/SCRc0G811x

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Shedding light on his professional relationship with Rafael Nadal, Toni said that he put his nephew to the sternest of tests. Toni also acknowledged that he could not have got a better student.

"I made his life very difficult at times. There were training sessions longer than usual, I forced Rafa to train with bad balls in very adverse courts. The truth is that he was the best student I could imagine. His willingness to learn was brutal and he always understood harshness and demand as a means to an end. Overall, I made high demands of him when he was a child."

Success and fame never got to Rafael Nadal's head: Toni Nadal

Rafael Nadal

Toni said that Rafael Nadal has excellent tennis weapons in his arsenal but has been taught to never exhibit bad behavior - either on the court or off it.

"The character is of no use to you if you don't hit the balls. And that's about it. Rafael has a great drive, a very good backhand and, like no other, can place the ball well from difficult positions."

"And then he has a good character too! Very beautiful. Because we have always worked on that too. Bad behavior leads to problems on the tennis court and in life. I would never have tolerated him throwing a racquet."

Toni Nadal said that Rafael Nadal knows he is a good tennis player but has never let his fame and laurels in the sport get to his head.

"Rafael knows that he is an excellent tennis player. But he also knows that he doesn't have to feel special about it. It is no different with Federer. Rafael was always smart enough to let adults with life experience guide him at the right moment. That's why fame or money never went to his head."

In this regard Toni recalled an incident from the time when Rafael Nadal won the first of his 12 Roland Garros titles, back in 2005. Immediately after the win, Toni drove home the point that Rafa should not rest on his laurels, and that he should continue to improve himself.

Toni reminded his nephew that there were many players who had won just one Slam in their lives, and that Rafa would have to work a lot harder if he wanted to achieve more success.

"We no longer had to work on the present, we always have to think about the future. At that time I listed Rafael the names of all Spanish players who had only won one Grand Slam in their careers. And asked him if he wanted to be one of those or to achieve more."

Rafael Nadal set his goals high from a young age, and that has paid rich dividends. The Spaniard's 19 Grand Slam titles are only one fewer than that of Roger Federer in the all-time Grand Slam title leaderboard.

"I knew that what Rafael had set out to do would be very difficult. So I had to prepare him for the difficulties. This is only possible by toughening the player."

Toni Nadal said in this regard that Rafael Nadal was always eager to learn and improve himself. Over time, the left-hander imbibed the lessons taught by his uncle not out of compulsion but by his own volition, which was the best case scenario according to Toni.

"He was the best student you can imagine. Rafael was always very eager to learn. But harshness and rigour should never be a method, just a means. Over time, my high demands became his own. That is the best case. Because a player should do things because I have managed to convince him. Not because I ask for it."

Toni Nadal said that there were times when Rafael Nadal went through moments of self-doubt. In such times, motivation and encouragement were the need of the hour and Toni provided them to his nephew aplenty.

“A coach must know when to be demanding and when to hold back. When Rafael has gone through difficult times or has doubted himself, I always tried to give him motivation, encouragement and try to strengthen him."

Toni also pointed out how Rafael Nadal always trained with the singular aim of improving facets of his game; his nephew never trained for fun.

"When things are going well, I always asked him for something else. We live in a world where people just want to have fun, even when they are training, but life is not just fun. The majority are frustrated when things are not going well and they are not willing to change their habits. He who needs to be praised will never improve,” reflected Toni Nadal.

Toni Nadal reveals the truth about 'making' Rafael Nadal a left-hander

Rafael Nadal

During the interview, Toni Nadal busted the myth that he had made his right-handed nephew play tennis left-handed. Toni said that his nephew played two-handed groundstrokes till the age of 10, and when asked to play the forehand one-handed, Rafael Nadal adopted a left-handed stance.

"It is a legend that persists. (It) would be nice if I had so much foresight! In truth, Rafael played forehand and backhand (with two hands) until he was about 10 years old. When we started playing the forehand one-handed, he did so with the left. And that's how it turned out. It is still astonishing, because otherwise he is an outspoken right-hander."

Young Rafael Nadal believed that his uncle was a magician

Rafael Nadal

Toni Nadal recalled some funny incidents from Rafael Nadal's childhood wherein his nephew thought that his uncle could be invisible.

"Yes, that was funny. I told him that I had won the Tour de France six times on a motorcycle! When we watched recordings of football matches, I pretended to be live and predicted what was going on. Or I told him I was invisible. I had previously told everyone to pretend I wasn't there. He believed for a long time that I was a phenomenon."

The young Rafael Nadal also thought that his uncle could make the skies open up if he was playing poorly.

"Another wonderful episode (laughs). We went to a tournament where older boys played. So I told him I would let it rain if he was badly losing. And in fact it started to rain during his game."

But eventually Rafael Nadal managed to convince his uncle that there was no need to bring the rain, as he began to play with more self-assurance and belief.

"But he later assured me that he had everything under control and that I could stop the rain now," said Toni Nadal with a laugh.