Toni Nadal stirs up a storm: “Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz aren’t enough”

Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, once again criticized modern tennis in an interview with ESPN, arguing that the level of play has dropped significantly compared to a few years ago, despite the emergence of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

“It’s clear that Alcaraz is a very well-rounded and brilliant player, and that Sinner has total control of the ball, but there was a time when it was a pleasure to watch even players who weren’t always at the very top—like Murray, Berdych, Ferrer, Del Potro—play at a high level… They never lost to players ranked below them; you’d always see them in the quarterfinals,” Nadal explained.

“Now you can see a top-10 player lose to the world No. 90, and I don’t like that. In the past, there were more tactical approaches, more variety, and changes in pace; now the focus is largely on hitting the ball as hard as possible.”

According to Nadal, Del Potro is a missed opportunity for the No. 1 spot: “I’ve always seen him as incredibly talented. We knew that when he was healthy, he could give anyone a run for their money. Injuries caused him to lose confidence; I’ve talked about this many times with Rafa. I think that if he hadn’t had so many injuries, he would have been up there with Murray, Roger, Novak, and Rafa.”

Commenting on the Madrid Masters 1000 final, in which Sinner had demolished Zverev in just 58 minutes, Nadal had stated: “It’s not normal for a final to end in less than an hour, especially when the world No. 1 and No. 3 are facing off. I had the feeling that Zverev had already stepped onto the court with a weight on his shoulders, almost resigned. Sinner made it clear to Zverev that he was superior in every way: Jannik is a solid and consistent player; he completely shattered Zverev’s confidence.”