Spain appointed Gala Leon, a former WTA player, captain of its Davis Cup team on Tuesday and Rafael Nadal's coach Toni Nadal believes that a woman shouldn’t be a captain in the men’s game.
Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s coach and uncle, spoke to Onda Cero radio and said that a woman should not have been appointed captain of the men’s team citing substantial differences between the men's and women's games.
"It is preferable that (the captain) is someone with a background in the world of men's tennis," Toni Nadal said
"I have nothing against her, I don't know what her capabilities are, and I hope she does her job well, but in theory she is a person that doesn't know men's tennis, because men's tennis isn't the same as women's tennis.
"The truth is that the men's game isn't the same as the women's game on the tactical level, not that one is better than the other.”
Spain’s leading political leaders and members of the media have labeled the comments as sexist and the country is still very happy with the decision to make Leon the captain. Andy Murray, who is coached by Amelie Mauresmo, tweeted at Leon and congratulated her on the accomplishment.
Leon said she will not comment on what Nadal said and that she is focused solely on the Davis Cup team. Leon replaces Carlos Moya as Spain’s captain and Nadal has said that Leon’s appointment will not stop Rafael Nadal from joining the team.
Leon won one title at the Madrid Open in 2000 during her 651 career WTA matches and at her best was ranked No. 27 in the world. Leon entered the women's coaching circuit after retiring and in June. She was named the first woman sports director of the Spanish tennis federation.
Spain has a bye in Europe's first round to open up the 2015 Davis Cup, which is scheduled 6-8.
[ESPN]
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