Rafael Nadal's uncle slams 'idiotic' tennis rules and claims sport is getting worse

seems to be getting out of tennis at the right time.

Ahead of his retirement, the Spaniard's uncle and former coach slammed the "idiotic" rules of the game and suggested top players don't want to see any more changes.

Toni Nadal also declared the sport was getting worse and would lead to "serious problems".

There have been a number of tweaks to tennis in recent years. Tiebreaks are now played in the deciding sets at Grand Slams, players can be coached by their boxes mid-match and, from next year, automatic electronic line calling will become the norm on the ATP Tour.

But not all of the changes are welcome. Novak Djokovic has been among the players , which means the serve countdown begins exactly three seconds after the last point with no discretion from the umpire.

And Nadal's uncle has become the latest figure to hit out against the direction tennis is headed in. "I've been saying for years that the rules need to be changed," Toni told .

"There's no sport that starts with a penalty. It's a bit idiotic. The rest is the position of a goalkeeper and I told Rafa to go to one side to see if he could hit the target."

The 63-year-old claimed all biggest names would rather those in charge didn't change anything, adding: "The only change that has been made is the inclusion of the 'tie break'.

"For the leaders, the only ones who count are the best and Rafael, Federer, Djokovic and Alcaraz will tell you not to touch anything. If I'm a leader, I'm the one who has to make the decision."

It's not the only grievance Nadal's uncle Toni has with the sport. The Mallorcan tennis coach also believes players could risk serious injuries with the speed of the game.

He continued: "It's not healthy at all, what's healthy is going for a walk or doing a bit of gym.

"Tennis today is worse because of the speed at which it's played, as the ball is faster the movements are more abrupt and sooner or later you make a movement that leads to a serious problem."

Toni spoke days . The 22-time Grand Slam champion will end his career at next month's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.

Nadal is also set to compete in the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia next week.