- Projects Rafa Nadal and the restaurant that has just opened in Manacor
We met Toni Nadal (Mallorca, 63 years old) as he grew upor the fame of his nephew Rafa Nadal, whom he trained since childhood. And when he fulfilled the mission of leaving him at the top of world tennis, Toni took charge of the academy created by Rafael in Manacor, where about 150 students live, train and study. In addition, there are others who go for weeks, many with a view to later going to a college in the United States.
The school is a pride for Mallorca and an attraction for tennis fans. This summer, Toni attended Miguel Bosé and his children, delighted with the visit.
Now he debuts in something very different, as a partner and ambassador of a fashion sports brand, Ses Palma: "It is a type of clothing of affordable luxury, linked to the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean. We intend that from the islands a Spanish brand is developed that competes with the French or the Italian and that is sustainable. We are not in the idea of continuously changing garments and models. We want the clothes to be made entirely in Spain and to represent the Balearic, Mallorcan way of life."
Mallorca has always been far from ostentation, theirs is discreet luxury, simplicity, elegance ... It is our way of being. The collection combines comfort with elegance, this is how we understand life on the islands.Do you intervene in the design or are you just an investor? I don't get into things I'm not trained for. It is my wife, who more or less understands and participates in the style of clothing. What did you do before training your nephew? I studied History and Law in Barcelona, I did not finish and when I returned to Mallorca I started training and I had a student named Rafael Nadal, who was then three years old. Poor boy, the racket was bigger than him... The poor guy looks at how well he has done and how he could with the racket.Why did he stop training him? Did they dispense with you, was it complicated, did they quarrel? Of fighting nothing. There came a time when I understood that my contribution was not necessary and that's why I left it. Rafael was already well trained with Carlos Moya and Francis Roig. Then he set up the Tennis Academy and I'm there, delighted. It is evident that part of Rafa's success has been due to his coach. Like in football... Well, in the end, the part that is due to the coach, is quite little. Has Rafa also gotten into this business of his? No, he has his own concerns and other issues, he is on another level than me. I am part of different things in which my nephew also participates, but he is not in this. It is a small business, set up with enthusiasm, proposed by three young people with an entrepreneurial spirit and very prepared. I understood that it was a beautiful thing that is in tune with my way of thinking and supporting young people ... Will we see Rafa with those clothes? Hopefully, I would like to, it would go well, it is comfortable and very much in his style. But I only indicate things to my children, who are three. But we will tell you (he says humorously) and I will leave it at a good price. By the way, when will we see him again on the slopes? I don't know exactly. He hopes to join next year, he has already started training gently, after a very long operation. Is Carlos Alcaraz the new Nadal? He is very good, the number one in the world, the best of this new generation and has only one competitor, Djokovic, who is already 36 years old. Alcaraz and Rafael have similar styles, both play with great intensity and in some details Rafael is better, in others, it is Carlos. The two play with passion and great speed. Rubiales Case... It is a pity that the girls win the world championship and there is hardly any talk of a transcendental victory for Spanish sport, that the issue is different. The truth is that we live in an exaggerated world. This gentleman has done something wrong and made inappropriate gestures. The punishment? I do not know, but there are attitudes in a president that should not be admitted, you should be more prudent in words and attitudes. The problem is often that there is a whole group of people who vote for them. Rubiales was tremendously unfair to dismiss the national coach, Lopetegui, when we were going to the World Cup, with the maximum guarantees and being an excellent and honest person. In my opinion, he did it with a chulesque attitude, but nobody said anything. What happened to the girls would never have happened in a men's team that won the World Cup. There would be talk of his feat, that's the important thing. It is very unfair that there is more talk about the rudeness of that gentleman. This is not how women's sport is supported.
- Rafa Nadal
- Majorca