Nadal Sr will not be on tour this year, stepping down after two decades coaching his nephew Rafael to run their tennis academy in Mallorca.
However, his final season working all over the world saw his legendary charge add another two Grand Slam titles and finish the year as the oldest ever world No 1.
The 31-year-old’s closest challenger in the rankings remains Federer, who also won two major titles, rolling back the years at the age of 36.
And Toni Nadal believes that while Rafael won his first French Open aged 18, the modern young players do not have the temperament to challenge.
“Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and someone else, like David Ferrer, have been very focused with a very big ability of [being able to] sacrifice,” Nadal told Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“For Federer, despite his age and all that he’s won, tennis continues to be a priority.
“The same can be said for Rafa, despite all his injuries.
“There have always been very good players, but this generation may have been more committed.
“Nadal, Federer and Djokovic won 47 Grand Slam titles combined.
“If we take as example Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe’s generation, [though] it was very brilliant as well, we see they only won 26.”
He added: “The generation that was supposed to take over wasn’t good enough [from Federer and Nadal].
“That’s the reflection of society we live in, which is ultra protective with kids.
“When we came to the tour, the best players were aged 21-23.
“Now, at this age most of them on the tour haven’t come of age yet. Why?
“Because kids are more immature and they struggle to develop.”
