Toni Nadal on Alcaraz’s One Mistake and Only Two Rivals

By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Photo credit: Rafa Nadal Academy

Toni Nadal praises Carlos Alcaraz as the most complete champion in the sport.

However, Toni Nadal believes the world No. 1 made one mistake after winning the Australian Open crown to complete the career Grand Slam on Sunday.

Toni Nadal, uncle and original coach of Rafael Nadal, said while he understands Alcaraz praising coach Samuel Lopez after defeating Novak Djokovic to win the Melbourne major, the seven-time Grand Slam champion made a major unforced error in not showing gratitude to former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

In an interview with Onda Cero’s Radioestadio noche, Uncle Toni spotlighted Alcaraz’s one mistake and the only two true rivals for the 22-year-old Spanish superstar.

Former world No. 1 Ferrero coached Alcaraz for about seven years before the pair split in December.

Toni Nadal said if Rafa Nadal had praised coach Carlos Moya exclusively while neglecting to acknowledge the decades of work with his uncle, it would have bothered him just as he feels Alcaraz omitting Ferrero from post-victory comments was unfair.

“It’s very good to value your coach but one has to remember the other too,” Toni Nadal told Radioestadio noche. “I don’t know how the relationship with Ferrero turned out but when he says that I feel bad about saying it. I’m sure Samuel López has done a great job in these two months, but he can’t forget Ferrero’s work for years.

“I wouldn’t have liked it if Rafa, when I left, said that about Carlos Moyá.”

💥‼️ Toni Nadal opina sobre los halagos de Alcaraz a su nuevo entrenador:

💬 "A mí no me hubiese gustado que Rafa hubiese dicho esas cosas" pic.twitter.com/0BS6GZ7NDc

— Radioestadio Noche (@RadioestadioN) February 3, 2026

After Alcaraz rallied past Novak Djokovic to win the AO title in four sets and make history as the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam, he was asked if he had any extra motivation to win his maiden AO title after splitting with Ferrero.

“So I didn’t think about those people that had doubts about it. I came here just playing for myself, playing for my team,” Alcaraz said. “We all know how hard I worked, you know, in the preseason to be ready for this tournament, and I had too many things to think about, you know, during this tournament. Just focus on my game style, focus on myself, being passion, and that’s all I thought about during this tournament.

But, you know, once I get it, I just happy to prove all the people were wrong.”

Despite his disappointment in Alcaraz overlooking Ferrero in his victory speech, Toni Nadal praised the reigning Roland Garros, US Open and Australian Open champion as the most complete player in the sport.

Toni Nadal believes Alcaraz aims now to complete the calendar Grand Slam and make history as the first man since Rocket Rod Laver in 1969 to capture all four major championships in the same season.

Surveying the ATP field, Toni Nadal believes only Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner, who fell to Djokovic in the AO semifinals, and Alexander Zverev, who Toni Nadal worked with last year and who lost to a hobbled Alcaraz in the semifinals, are true rivals to Alcaraz.

“It seemed very difficult to me that Djokovic could beat Carlos in 5 sets,” Toni Nadal said. “Now the question is, where can it go? And the only thing that Carlos made clear to us is that he wants to become the youngest tennis player to win the four Grand Slams in a year.

“You can go where your ability reaches you and where your rivals limit you. His ability is very high because he has everything and he has a great advantage which is that I don’t see almost any opponent that can worry him much, only Sinner and Zverev. Young people are always worrisome, just as it happened to Federer with Nadal and Nadal with Djokovic.”