Toni Nadal was Rafael Nadal's coach right from his childhood up until 2017 when he decided to quit.
It was Toni Nadal who taught Rafael Nadal the basics of tennis and introduced his nephew to the game at three or four. To prevent Rafa from getting complacent or overconfident, Toni would show the list of previous champions from that event, telling Rafa that many past champions of the event didn't work hard enough and fell off the radar.
Rafa entered his professional career at 15, moving close to the top-200 by the end of 2003. In 2004, Rafa stunned world no. 1 Roger Federer in Miami in straight sets to lift his first ATP title in Sopot.
The young Spaniard claimed his first Major trophy and four Masters 1000 crowns the next year to become world no. 2 and Roger Federer's fiercest rival.
Toni Nadal not only taught his nephew the game of tennis but also the qualities that make Rafa the star that he is, both on and off the court. Despite spending three decades on the tennis court, Rafa hasn't ever thrown a racquet, highlighting the respect he has for the game
Toni taught him to refrain from showing his anger on the racquet and learning to channel his frustration. Toni Nadal was Rafa's coach till the end of 2017, winning the last Major together in Paris in June.
Despite being one of the most accomplished coaches of all time, Toni went back home to Mallorca to work with kids.
"I had come to believe that my contribution was no longer necessary. I've been a very demanding coach all my life and it was always my goal to educate Rafa to demand everything from himself. The job of a trainer is to make yourself dispensable and I think I did it."
"I was fortunate to train a great player who is also my nephew. I enjoyed that, and I feel grateful for it too. But I like to teach children, like now in Manacor, because I have the feeling that I can give them more than my nephew," was Toni Nadal's reason to quit as Rafa's coach.
Carlos Moya replaced Toni as Nadal's coach and has taken Rafa towards more success in the previous three years. After the Roland Garros title in 2017, Nadal has constantly been part of top-2, while giving Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic a good run for their money.
