Why are men still suspicious of female coaches in sport?

If Toni Nadal never captains Spain's Davis Cup players at least we know what his team talks might have looked like: David Ferrer, naked but for a small towel, reclining on a bench; Feliciano Lopez wearing nothing but briefs; Toni's nephew, Rafa, wearing no clothes at all, one foot on a sink, bold as brass.

For this is what Uncle Toni had to say about the appointment of Spain's first female Davis Cup skipper, Gala Leon Garcia, 40. "A lot of time is spent in locker rooms without much clothing and with a woman it would always be weird," he said.

Uncle Toni, who has coached 14-time major winner Rafa since he was a small boy, had some legitimate objections. For example, why had a role usually filled by a former top male player been handed to a woman with a career-high singles ranking of 27 and whose previous charges have all been female?

And why had Leon Garcia not contacted any of Spain's top male players since being appointed director of the Spanish Tennis Federation in June? "I have spoken to Rafa, Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer and they don't know you," said Uncle Toni.

Toni Nadal has coached 14-time major winner and nephew Rafael since he was a small boy

But his argument was weakened by references to possible problems "at dressing room level" - "there are other rooms," noted doubles specialist Marc Lopez - and the suggestion that Leon Garcia does not know the men's game well enough, which ignored the fact that men have always coached women.

Leaving aside the fact that Davis Cup captains do not really do much coaching and their tactics largely consist of deciding who will pair up for the doubles, Uncle Toni's comments highlight one of the principal problems faced by women who aspire to coach male athletes: a fear of difference.

Giselle Mather is the only woman with a Level 4 Rugby Football Union coaching certificate and is junior academy manager of Premiership side London Irish. But Mather, a former England captain and World Cup winner, remains indebted to former Exiles boss Toby Booth, to whom difference did not matter.