There has been no one else in modern tennis quite like the Nadals: an all-in-the family, often-all-conquering duo composed of Toni Nadal and his nephew Rafael, who remains Rafael — not Rafa — to Toni.
Toni was Rafael’s first teacher, at age 3, on the Spanish island Majorca, and Toni has remained his primary coach and tennis influence for 14 Grand Slam singles titles, long stretches at No. 1 and two Olympic gold medals.
It was Toni who determined that Rafael — right-handed in many respects — should play tennis with his left. It was Toni who decided that Rafael would play his forehand with one hand instead of two, and it was Toni who convinced young Rafael that his uncle had magical powers.