By Chris Oddo | Saturday May 21, 2016
In an interview with L'equipe, Toni Nadal opens up about the state of modern tennis, criticizing its lack of imagination.
Photo Source: Matthew Lewis/Getty
Rafael Nadal’s coach and uncle, Toni Nadal gave a very candid interview with the French publication L’equipe this week (article translated by Tennis Translations) in which he shows concern for the direction that modern tennis is taking.
See the full translated article at Tennis Translations here
“There’s recently been an evolution towards a very quick game without strategy, where it’s boom, boom, boom on every point,” Nadal said. “Today, clay specialists are considered laborers who push the ball back. Then, on the other hand, we have those who just hit shots. But a game that just consists of hitting, that’s baseball!”
Nadal says the game is reluctant to change, even though it is losing its appeal for spectators.
“The rules of many sports have changed because the size of the athletes has changed, or their power, or their equipment,” Nadal said. “But I haven’t seen change in tennis. Since the introduction of the tie-break in the 1970’s, I haven’t seen any. The physiques of the players now are nothing like they were twenty years ago. Neither is their equipment. The training intensity is nothing like it was, neither is the professionalism. But the bosses have kept the same difficulties in the game. Which leads to this inconsistency: in what other sport does a point start with a penalty? Because that’s the case in tennis with the serve. The returner looks like a goalkeeper during a series of penalty shots.”
One could quickly assume that Nadal is frustrated by the difficulties that his own charge is having on tour, but he assures the interviewer that his observations are purely personal and objective.
“What I’m telling you isn’t about Rafael,” he said. “Whether he’s still playing or isn’t has nothing to do with my way of looking at things. I’m speaking as a spectator who’s thinking about the game in general. Besides, as Rafael’s coach, I don’t want anything to change. He’s won fourteen Slams and has had an extraordinary career with the rules I’m criticizing and the evolution I’m regretting. I’m not an idiot! I’m someone who has preferences and isn’t alone.”