Toni Nadal, coach of Felix Auger-Aliassime, says younger players lack the mental toughness of his nephew Rafa, who he trained to become one of the greatest champions.
Toni didn’t specifically mention Felix, who has slumped in 2023 after reaching world number 6 by winning titles in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Florence and Basel in 2022. But his words seemingly apply to Felix and other younger players.
Speaking to the Mallorca Bulletin in Spain, Uncle Toni said “mental health coaches” are “the cause for so many young players getting frustrated and being unable to handle defeat and the pressure.”
While many players have teams to advise them on statistics and nutrition, Rafa never had a mental health coach nor a nutritionist. “I’m not his mother. I don’t know what he eats or how much he weighs,” Uncle Toni said. “It used to be just Rafa and I. Some days I would play him with used old balls, take him to poor quality courts to train and forget to take water so he could be mentally strong and get used to accepting defeat and making mistakes. And I used to tell him when he was making mistakes.”
“Today there’s too much information it’s confusing, and it’s all about positive criticism. That does not always work; on the contrary, it leads to greater frustration for players when they lose. It’s a case of dusting yourself down and training more, working harder, constantly improving your game and moving on to the next tournament. That’s what I always instilled in Rafa and that’s why he’s so mentally strong. It’s about hitting the ball as hard as you can, as if your life depends on every shot. It’s a championship ball, getting the ball in, moving around the court, adjusting the movement of the ball and don’t help the other player beat you.”
This formula hasn’t been working for Felix. After reaching the round of 16 in Melbourne and the quarters at Indian Wells (losing to Carlos Alcaraz), Felix has dropped in the rankings by losing to Fabio Fognini at the French Open, Michael Mmoh at Wimbledon, Yosuke Watanuki in Washington, Max Purcell in Toronto, Adrian Mannarino in Ohio, Mackenzie McDonald in New York, Holger Rune in Beijing and Martin Fucsovics in Shanghai. This week, Auger-Aliassime double-faulted to give American qualifier Marcos Giron a match point, which he converted to beat Felix in straight sets at the quarters of the Kinoshita Japan Open in Tokyo.
While some have blamed Nadal for Felix’s downfall, Felix himself has only blamed himself. “The main culprit is me. It’s up to me to find the solution,” Felix said after losing his first match in Toronto.
But many fans are wondering if Felix should part ways with Nadal. In a Netflix segment about Felix, coach Patrick Mouratoglou criticized Toni Nadal for not sitting in Felix’s box during his match against Rafa at the French Open.
“You commit to a player. It’s a professional commitment,” said Mouratoglou. “I’m going to be with you 100 percent. I’m gonna do everything to help you be the best you can.” He added: ““That’s his choice … but would I do that? No, I would never do that.”
In the same segment, Toni Nadal said: “I can’t really tell Felix how to beat Rafael. To tell the truth, I want my nephew to win. He’s my nephew and he’s more than a nephew to me.” He added: “I have have my principles and my principles are my own. I won’t change them.”
Even Rafa seemed puzzled by his uncle’s decision: “Felix is in the other corner,” said Rafa to Toni. “Are you allowed to be on this side?”
Netflix later showed Uncle Toni smiling after Rafa beat Felix. But Felix tried to put a positive spin on it: “I like (Toni) as a person, I respect him, and I was glad to see him there watching. I really believe in life that you get what you deserve. i was proud of what I was able to show to the world.”
The Netflix segment then showed various people online saying: “This is sooo unprofessional”; “Felix should find a coach 100% committed”; “Felix seems quite content being a door mat”; “I hope Felix got a discount”; “God knows why Felix puts up with this crap.”
On the Tennis Podcast, BBC presenter David Law said: “I can’t believe he (Uncle Toni) said that. Who is he cheering for?”
Law’s co-host Catherine Whitaker said: “I would be surprised if that relationship survives this. Does he withhold his coaching expertise?”
Law made the point that Felix would wonder what Toni could have told him to beat his nephew.
But, in the Netflix segment, Felix said “it was very clear to me that when we started working together … that he wouldn’t want me to beat his nephew.”
Felix’s agent and tax lawyer Bernard Duchesneau said they knew about this potential conflict of interest: “It’s all good. For us, it was understood.”
For context, Felix was doing quite well before bringing on Toni Nadal. But he and his longtime coach Fred Fontang felt that Toni Nadal would give them an outside voice with experience at the higher levels of the game.
This was a questionable move. It shows opponents that Felix didn’t believe enough in himself. He didn’t have enough independence and swagger to say “to hell with Uncle Toni and everybody else. I can do it on my own.”
Indeed, Felix seems to lack confidence during key points under pressure. Though his backhand used to be his stronger side, Felix has been running around his backhand like Rafa to hit forehands. But he’s giving up too much court, and this has exposed his weaker forehand corner, where he’s made too many unforced errors. He’s also made too many double-faults at key junctures, a problem going back to his junior days.
It’s not clear how Felix will emerge from his Netflix slump. But if he finds himself unseeded at the Australian Open in January, and plays Rafa in an early round, he might prefer to see Toni sitting outside his coaching box.
words and images copyright Christopher Johnson Globalite Media all rights reserved
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