Nadal and chair umpire Bernardes clarify their relationship
Chair umpire Carlos Bernardes and Rafael Nadal have had their differences in the past, most notably at the Rio de Janeiro tournament in 2015.
Subsequently, there were rumors that Nadal had asked to no longer be refereed by Bernardes. The Spaniard confirmed these rumours.
He said: "I consider him a great referee and a good person. But I think that, when you have problems with the same referee, it's sometimes easier to stay away for a while, isn't it?"
Both Nadal and Bernardes retired at the end of this 2024 season. Speaking in Spain, the Brazilian chair umpire said, "We have this image because of the arguments. But we've always treated each other very well.
He's always been very respectful towards me. And that's something I'll never forget. I was sad because he ended his career this way.
I wanted to be there to see him. I didn't even think about refereeing him. I just wanted to see him because of the great work he did for the other players. He was very important for tennis."
