Tennis legend Rafa Nadal's uncle and former coach proposes radical change to the sport in order to make it 'harder'

Rafael Nadal's uncle and former coach has incredibly proposed reducing the size of rackets to improve the quality of tennis as a spectacle. 

Toni Nadal, who led his nephew to many major titles, claimed the sport has become merely about 'who hits it the hardest' in a new interview with Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport. 

The 63-year-old coach, who stepped away from working with Felix Auger-Aliassime only last year, complained: 'Many will disagree, but the real problem is that the ball is moving faster and faster. 

'Injuries are caused not by the number of matches but by the intensity and violence of the player. There are hardly any tactical players like (Federico) Coria or (Gaston)  Gaudio anymore, who tried to build up play. 

'These days, it's often just a competition to see who can hit it the hardest and when you make such quick movement, when you sprint towards a ball, stop, and then accelerate again, it's easy for your body to reach its limit. I think we should slow the game down a bit.'

Nadal is adamant that introducing smaller rackets would improve the quality of tennis on display. He added: 'It would be easier for amateurs and more difficult for professionals and the game would be less violent. 

'The beauty of tennis is being able to see the movement - when (John) McEnroe or IIee Nastase plated, everything was there, movement, skill, tactics.

'Tennis is the only sport that starts with a penalty. If you serve well, the opponent doesn't play. In other disciplines they have changed the rules to increase the spectacle.' 

Rafa Nadal endured an injury-laidened career at the top of tennis before announcing his retirement last year.

Despite winning an incredible collection of 22 Grand Slam titles, the Spaniard's explosive style of play caused him to pick up a huge number of muscular injuries. 

It's a problem many tennis players have suffered with. Andy Murray, for example, was forced into retirement a few years after undergoing two hip surgeries. 

In an interview not long before Nadal's retirement, his coach admitted that the 39-year-old's injuries were so frequent that he got used to 'seeing him suffer'. 

Toni Nadal said: 'Of course I saw him suffer, but I got used to seeing suffer so many times during his tennis life.

'Many times he had bad injuries, injuries that looked like they were going to impair him and even prevent him from playing anymore. 

'Because I got so used to that, I wasn't surprised to see him suffer a bit at the end. The truth is that, even seeing him suffer, I think Rafael can't complain because life has treated him very well.'

During a 24-year career, Nadal won a record 14 French Open titles, two Wimbledon championships, four US Opens and two Australian Opens.

He also won Gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.