Rafael Nadal remains non-committal with regard to his interest in becoming a coach once he hangs up his racket, but admits that he would prefer to work with kids in his tennis academy in Mallorca rather than travel with a single player on the ATP Tour.

The Spaniard has turned back the clock in 2017, returning to the top of the world rankings for the first time since July 2014, and has made it clear that he has no plans to call time on his career anytime soon.

More from IBTimes UK

Questions regarding the 31-year-old's journey into coaching after his playing career were raised after he was seen advising Roger Federer during the recently-concluded Laver Cup, in which the duo were in Team Europe and took on a team made up of players from the rest of the world.

Nadal was seen giving tips to Federer during his match against Nick Kyrgios and revealed later that he was asking the Swiss ace to be more aggressive with his forehand.

Federer also took on the role of mentor during other singles games involving younger players like Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem, who were also part of Team Europe.

A number of top players from past eras like Boris Becker, Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl have taken up coaching roles in recent years, but Nadal is unsure if he will follow the same path once he retires as a competitive tennis player.

"I do not know if I would be a good coach or not," Nadal said, as quoted by the Metro.

"At the moment, I do not ask, but I do not say no because there are many players who said they would never be coaches and then they are here.

"Right now, I do not see myself, another thing is to see me in the academy helping the kids daily and playing with them. You never know what may happen in the future," the 16-time men's singles Grand Slam champion explained.

"I see myself more in the academy, instead of travelling for several weeks with a player. In five or 10 years, we will see."

Rafael Nadal
Nadal was seen giving tips to Federer during the Laver Cup Getty
Roger Federer Rafael Nadal