Toni Nadal gives insight on how Rafael Nadal channels his frustrations - "He never threw a racket"

ATP
Friday, 17 September 2021 at 11:21
DjokovicNadal_MonteCarlo2015v3
Despite having a career that has over two decades, Rafael Nadal has never lost his cool on a tennis court and his uncle, Toni Nadal, explains that this is due to the Spaniard's ingrained positive attitude.
Having trained the 35-year old since he was three, Toni made it a point to show his nephew how to channel his frustrations on court, encouraging him to turn his on-court emotions into his strength.
"Rafa ended up getting used to my tennis philosophy, assuming a very high demand that I placed on him," revealed Toni Nadal. "When he was a child and we trained, I first asked him to smile and have a positive attitude. He never threw a racquet because that would have allowed frustration to overcome him."
This has led to the 20-time Grand Slam champion being one of the most successful tennis players to ever pick up a racket. Furthermore, Nadal is known for his calm demeanor and class on court, never taking out his frustrations on his equipment or the officials.
"I'm bothered by the complaint and frustration, considering that it begins from a feeling of personal overvaluation, of believing that you can't fail," added Toni Nadal. "I did my best to fix that in his approach."

Just In

Popular News