“I don’t have an exact number of matches we should play, I can’t give an exact figure, but they obviously need to do something about the schedule,” Carlos Alcaraz once remarked, echoing a frustration shared across the ATP and WTA circuits. The sport’s relentless calendar has taken its toll, with stars like Novak Djokovic battling shoulder issues despite reaching four Grand Slam semifinals, forcing him to reconsider his year-end participation. Yet, as debates rage on over player fatigue and injuries, Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and longtime coach, has boldly dismissed Alcaraz’s concerns, proposing his own firm fix to the scheduling chaos.

In a candid interview with Tennis Gazzetta, the Italian publication, Toni Nadal shared his unapologetically bold take on tennis’s growing injury crisis. When asked about the increasing complaints surrounding a compressed tour calendar, he dismissed the popular narrative outright, saying, “It’s not a question of calendar. Now many will disagree, but the real problem is that the ball always goes too fast.” He went on to emphasize, “It is not a question of quantity, but of intensity and violence of the gesture.”

The seasoned coach then lamented the disappearance of tactical artistry once cherished in the sport. When asked why players like Federico Coria or Gastón Gaudio no longer thrive in modern tennis, Nadal explained, “Today it is often just a race to see who hits hardest. And when you make such quick gestures, when you get to a ball at full speed, brake and start again, it’s easy for the body to go to the limit and get hurt. I think we should try to slow down the game a bit.”

With decades of experience shaping one of the sport’s greatest champions, Toni Nadal didn’t stop there. He proposed a radical yet intriguing solution, adding, “I would propose playing with smaller rackets. It would be easier for amateurs and more difficult for professionals, and the game would be less violent.”

Reflecting nostalgically, he said, “When McEnroe or Nastase played, everything was there: gesture, hand, tactics. Tennis is the only sport that begins with a ‘penalty kick’: if you serve well, the opponent doesn’t play… In other disciplines they have changed the rules to increase the spectacle.” 

(More to come…)