The announcement of Toni Nadal returning to the ATP tour was a surprise to many. And it is not Rafael Nadal but Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime. Uncle Toni coached his nephew from childhood and through his adult career until he stood down in 2017.
Ranked 22 in the world, Auger-Alliassime should be among the best in the world in years to come. With the addition of uncle Toni, the young Canadian has added a coach of the highest level. The 20-year-old is undeniably one of the most athletic prospects we’ve seen on a tennis court in a long time.
When asked about the new player/coach pairing, Novak Djokovic said “I know Felix has spent quite a bit of time in the past couple years at Rafa’s academy training and getting advice and mentorship from Toni when he was there. Toni probably was excited to explore a new project, a new adventure on the tour with one of the best young tennis players in the world at the moment.”
The world No.1 continued “Felix is a great guy. He’s someone that has hard-working ethics, which is something that is very important for Toni. I wish them all the best. It’s nice to see Toni on the tour. Obviously he’s had his mark with Rafa for so many years. I feel like he can only bring positives to Felix’s game and mindset.”
Can Toni Nadal help Felix Auger-Aliassime to the top of the rankings?
Toni Nadal, Mentor of the Spanish veteran Rafael Nadal is set to train the Canadian-prodigy Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Uncle Toni has done it before. He has helped his nephew to 17 Grand Slam titles over his career. With the combination of Auger-Aliassime’s potential along with Uncle Toni’s ability to get the best of his players, the future looks promising.
It’s difficult to think of a player who has evolved his or her game more than Rafael Nadal throughout his 20-year career. Hopefully, Uncle Toni will do the same to Auger-Aliassime.
What will become of Auger-Aliassime’s tennis remains to be seen. Tennis fans will be eager to see if Toni can add a little bit of “Rafa” to his game.
