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Toni Nadal Says Rafael Nadal Now Lacks Consistency In His Game

By  Rachelle Corpuz on March 11 2015 2:19 PM

Most players are already looking to build a consistency of performance as things continue to ramp up nicely in the current tennis season. However, Toni Nadal, the uncle and coach of 14-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, is reportedly concerned about his nephew’s playing form. IN PHOTO: Toni Nadal, coach and uncle of Rafael Nadal of Spain, attends his men's singles final match against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip REUTERS

Most players are already looking to build a consistency of performance as things continue to ramp up nicely in the current tennis season. However, Toni Nadal, the uncle and coach of 14-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal, is reportedly concerned about his nephew’s playing form. According to Toni, Rafa is not the same player as he once was.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Spanish news outlet El Confidencial, Toni revealed that Nadal’s problems are more on the mental side rather than the physical aspects. He reckons that there are psychological factors that cause Rafa to retort mentally in a way that can disapprovingly affect his performance as an athlete.

“These things I think are always mental because when someone isn’t feeling at his best mentally, that affects the physical being and vice-versa, of course,” Toni said. “What is the cause for this mental problem - Rafa is missing consistency.”

Toni added that Rafa has been able to achieve success in his career because he has always been consistent but now the Spanish tennis star is missing the contributing force that has helped him take control of his games in the past. According to Toni, getting back into the competition had cost them more than ever before.

As Rafa continues to embark on the 2015-2015 tennis season, Toni remains optimistic that his pupil will be able to regain consistency, especially heading into the BNP Paribas Indian Wells tournament. Toni said that the Buenos Aires title has given Rafa a morale boost and he hopes that the 14-time grand slam champion can recover and be back in top form.

Rafa’s Injury-Addled 2014 Season And Getting Back To Form In 2015

Will injury prevent Rafa from being the greatest tennis player of all time? Since 2005, Rafa has battled a number on injury bugs. Just last season, Rafa suffered a wrist injury at Wimbledon that had made him miss tournaments including the US Open. He returned to the scene and reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 China Open. Rafa next played at the 2014 Shanghai Rolex Masters but he crashed out of the tournament losing to fellow compatriot Feliciano Lopez. It was around the time when he was struggled with appendicitis. Soon after, he still competed at the 2014 Swiss Indoors but suffered yet another quarterfinal loss to Borna Coric in the tournament. It was the last tournament that Rafa has participated in the 2014 season.

Rafa kicked off his 2015 season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, but he suffered an early exit following loss to Michael Berrer in the opening round. He played at the first grand slam tournament of the current season at the Australian Open, where he reached his 28th quarterfinals appearance in his career before losing to Tomas Berdych. Rafa then competed at the Rio Open, where he was the defending champion, but lost to Italy’s Fabio Fognini in the semifinals. Rada claimed his first title of the year, also his first title since winning his ninth French Open trophy, at the Argentina Open.

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