Alexander Zverev has received what appears to be a bitter rejection. His preferred choice, Toni Nadal, has other plans.
Alexander Zverev has suffered a bitter setback shortly before his return to the ATP Tour. According to Sport Bild, Toni Nadal has turned down the job of coaching him.
Zverev had most recently been training at the Nadal Academy in Manacor, Mallorca, and working with Rafael Nadal’s uncle. However, it looks like there will be no long-term cooperation.
The reasons? According to Sport Bild, Toni Nadal already feels he has his hands full with the academy, lectures and his role as tournament director of the ATP tournament in Mallorca. Life as coach to a top star would not fit in with that.
Nadal is said to have merely offered to welcome Zverev to the academy in Manacor for training sessions at any time.
Nadal turns down Zverev
Zverev has already left Mallorca to head to the Masters tournament in Toronto (starting July 27). There, he will likely continue to be coached solely by his father Alexander, as has been the case for the past two years.
Previously, Zverev had repeatedly worked with well-known coaches such as Juan Carlos Ferrero, Ivan Lendl, Sergi Bruguera, and David Ferrer. But with all of them, time passed quickly.
Tennis legends want star coach for Zverev
Now, after Zverev’s first-round exit from Wimbledon, which included the revelation of mental health issues, many German tennis legends have called for a change in Zverev’s team.
“Sascha sometimes tends to get anxious when the going gets tough and then starts playing more passively,” “If he could help Sascha, that would of course be a very positive thing.”
Boris Becker also welcomed Zverev’s time with Nadal. “It might be a whole new perspective for Sascha Zverev on how to live tennis, how to train tennis,” Becker said.
