Tennis boss responds to Rafa Nadal backlash and points blame as new plan shared

The president of the Spanish Tennis Federation has spoken out after Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony sparked backlash. The 22-time Grand Slam champion ended his career at the Davis Cup Finals on Tuesday as Spain lost their knockout quarter-final tie to the Netherlands. Nadal was then honoured with a presentation. But his coach Carlos Moya and team captain David Ferrer have been among those slamming the “shabby” tribute. Miguel Diaz Roman has now addressed the criticism, placing the blame on the International Tennis Federation. When the Dutch team beat Spain in a decisive doubles rubber shortly after midnight, it sent Nadal straight into retirement. The 38-year-old had been hoping to help his nation win the Davis Cup for the sixth time but it wasn’t to be. As his career drew to a close, he was honoured with an on-court ceremony, addressing the crowd and his loved ones before watching an emotional video full of his career highlights and messages from his colleagues. But many believe the presentation wasn’t good enough. Moya, Ferrer and Nadal’s uncle Toni have all blasted the attempts to honour the former world No. 1, claiming the tournament’s tribute wasn’t good enough. Spanish tennis boss Roman has now waded in, telling ElDesmarque the ITF - the body which organises the Davis Cup Finals - was responsible for the ceremony. The Spanish Tennis Federation president was also involved in the on-court celebration but he agreed with Nadal’s mentors, claiming it was “not enough” to honour the 92-time title winner. He added: “It was not a memory for life.” The Spanish tennis body is now hoping to organise their own event to honour Nadal, distancing themselves from the ITF’s attempt. And they will go big if they get another opportunity to pay tribute to arguably Spain’s greatest-ever player. “I'm sure we would like to fill a football stadium,” Roman said. The 59-year-old’s comments come after Moya, Ferrer and Toni Nadal brutally criticised Nadal’s last dance. Moya - who has coached Nadal since 2017 - told Ondacero: “The feeling we are all left with is that the farewell was a bit scruffy and shabby.” Ferrer, who took the microphone to address Nadal during Tuesday night’s ceremony, admitted it was a shame that the Spaniard’s rivals weren’t there to see him off. “The farewell of someone as important as Rafa was watered down. Perhaps some very important people in his tennis career were missing, and people who have been as important as his rivals as he was to the team, who were perhaps not mentioned enough,” he said to El Partidazo de Cope. And Nadal’s former coach and uncle Toni - who missed the whole thing due to work commitments - told El Larguero de la SER it wasn’t a fitting farewell. “I don't mean to criticise anyone. I would have liked something different, on the level of his career,” he explained. “As a family member and as Rafael's former coach, I appreciate the detail they had and the good intention. Afterwards, well, I would have liked something else.” The likes of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray had been planning to attend Nadal’s last dance. But, according to reports, organisers believed Spain would get further into the competition and had a bigger celebration planned for Friday, telling Nadal’s old rivals to attend over the weekend instead.