Toni Nadal has a clear opinion on the subject of respect between players and coaches.
Discussions about the sense and nonsense of on-court coaching on the WTA Tour are balanced, but the entertainment value of some coach/player combinations is undisputed.
Darren Cahill gave Simona Halep tactical help again and again, Philippe Dehaes tries psychological tricks with Daria Kasatkina (“Do you already know the Russian Wall? It’s brand new on the market”) and the coach of Lauren Davis once encouraged his protégé with a good joke (“What do you call a magic dog? A Labrakadabrador”).
The coaching breaks of Sam Sumyk and Garbine Muguruza, on the other hand, are more heated. The word with the “F” at the beginning is there on the agenda, often Sumyk left the bank unnerved, whether the insults that the two-time Major winner left out on him.
A degrading sight – which would not have been possible with Muguruza’s most famous tennis compatriot. A public quarrel between Toni Nadal and his nephew Rafael? Unthinkable. “Respect” is the word Uncle Toni likes to use when referring to people, “there has never been a time in my life when Rafael has not respected me,” he said in an interview with diariovasco.com, referring to Muguruza and Sumyk.
What if it had happened? “Then I would have gone. That would be unacceptable. Life is a question of respect,” says Toni. “Rafael never had a lack of respect for me or any of the team members.” It’s about understanding life, the 61-year-old philosophized further, and of course someone could blow the fuses. But Nadal says, “You must learn to control yourself.”