“He felt like every match he had to be at the top of his game": Annacone on how Rafael Nadal’s hindered his aggression

Former Roger Federer coach Paul Annacone believes Rafael Nadal’s “only downside” was his humility, which, in his opinion, occasionally hindered him from playing more aggressively. The 22-time Grand Slam champion retired a week ago after Spain's elimination in the Davis Cup Finals.

The former World No. 1 was defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets in his final official match, closing out a 23-year career. Nadal ended his career with 92 professional titles, his last being the 2022 French Open, where he claimed his record 14th Roland Garros crown — the most titles ever won by a player in a single tournament.

Recently, Annacone appeared on Tennis Channel's Inside-In podcast and discussed Nadal’s humility and how it "affected" his career. “Rafa’s only downside was also his biggest asset. His only downside was his humility, and that’s also his biggest asset,” Annacone said.

“There are times when I would look at him and wonder how he didn’t actually have a bigger ego,” Annacone added. “He was always so gracious and humble about what he was doing that sometimes it hindered his ability to step on a court and just crush the ball.”

“When Rafa was vulnerable, he didn’t crush the ball, and we saw that [in his match against van de Zandschulp] because he hadn’t played and it was on his worst surface — his ball gets very spinny and sits up,” the former Federer coach explained. “But because of that humility, he didn’t just walk on that court and start ripping balls everywhere.

“He felt like every match he had to be at the top of his game. He was vulnerable, and because of that, he sometimes played a little tentatively until he got the match reps in, and then when he did that, he played more aggressively,” he added. “But again, the biggest liability — if he even had one — was his humility. And if you swap that for how gracious that is and what an asset that is, I’ll take that balance.”

Annacone, who also coached 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, spoke about the challenge of helping Federer prepare for his matchups against Nadal.  “There’s no bigger challenge, and for me, luckily, I also got to work with Roger, arguably one of the most gifted athletes ever to hold a tennis racket, so what a great contrast between the two. It was always fun to try to problem-solve and figure out what Roger could do to make Rafa uncomfortable,” Annacone added.