Toni Nadal is the ex-coach and uncle of the 21-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal. He and Rafa were a legendary pair, as they won 16 majors between 1990 and 2017. At present Toni is part of the coaching staff of the current World No.9, Felix Auger-Aliassime.

During the tournament, Felix was scheduled to play the 13-time Roland Garros champion in the fourth round. Although most of Felix’s coaching staff were expected to be at the match, ‘Uncle Toni’ chose otherwise.

Toni Nadal on choosing to not attending the match against Rafael Nadal

In the ongoing French Open Auger-Aliassime performed commendably, as he made it to the fourth round by outclassing his opponents in straight sets in the earlier rounds. However, he failed to get the better of Rafael Nadal in the round of 16. Talking about his decision to not attend the match, Nadal said, “I had a deal with Felix in which I wouldn’t sit in his box in the case he faced Rafa. He knew I wanted Rafa to win and didn’t even go to his last practices before that match.”

Further, he added, “If he didn’t accept that, I would stop coaching him right away. But he is a good kid”. The 61-year-old’s statement attracted a great deal of criticism from tennis fans.

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What is Toni Nadal’s contribution, according to Felix?

Toni has been traveling alongside the 21-year-old since 2021. After collaborating with him, Felix Auger-Aliassime has steadily improved, making his first quarterfinal appearance at the Wimbledon championship along with a run to the semifinal at the US Open last year. The Canadian in February of this year spoke about what coach Nadal brings to the table. He said, “I think we took Toni to have that experience from the top of the sport.”

“And he built a lot of confidence [for] the team and normality to winning tournaments like this and reaching late stages at Grand Slams,” he added.

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Although Nadal’s recent actions might have caused some tensions among the fans, Felix and his team seem to consider Toni Nadal an essential part of the coaching setup. Only time will tell if the association will lead to the Canadian making a bigger impact at the biggest tournaments in the sport.