Rafael Nadal fights injuries

For more than two decades, Rafael Nadal tormented his body and only overcame pain and injuries thanks to his extraordinary mind.

Tuesday evening in Malaga after Spain’s defeat against the Netherlands in the Davis Cup (2-1), he put an end to his career, finally listening to this body which had been insistently demanding definitive rest since January 2023 when a hip injury at the Australian Open forced him to end his season.

His ambition was then to return in 2024 to aim for a 15th title at Roland-Garros then a new gold medal at the Olympic Games, at the same place.

He played well in both tournaments, but far from his best physical level, having not been able to play enough since his return to the courts in January, due to a new series of physical problems and withdrawals.

“It doesn’t make sense to continue playing knowing that I don’t really have the opportunity to be as competitive as I would like to be. My body no longer gives me the opportunity to be that way very often”Nadal explained Monday at a press conference.

“Ultimately, OK, I can last another year. But for what purpose? » asked Nadal, assuring that he would leave professional tennis “in peace”after giving “all (he) had”.

The left foot, elbow, shoulder, hand and wrist, back, right forearm (while playing with the left hand), abdominals, ribs but also knees, ankles , the hip and finally the thigh a few days before the Olympics, for which he was still uncertain the day before his first match… “He’s an injured person who plays tennis”summarized his uncle and historic coach Toni Nadal in April 2019 for the newspaper Cinco Dias.

His doctor Angel Ruiz claims that the player has “wonderful genetics”which he combines with a mind like no other and with “exceptional pain resistance”.

In 2009, the Mallorcan played the US Open despite an abdominal tear – which worsened during the tournament – because it only bothered him when serving. “It was a bit stupid of me”he admits.

In 2014, he beat Roger Federer in the semi-final of the Australian Open despite a huge blister in his left hand, but he jammed his back early in the final and lost to Stan Wawrinka.

On several occasions, injuries kept him away from the circuit.

At the end of the 2008 season, he cut his season short after Bercy in November due to knee tendinitis but returned two months later at the 2009 Australian Open and made Federer cry after inflicting one of the most bitter defeats of his career after a 4h30 match.

“Rapid decline”

The first long break in his career came in 2012 when he ended his season after Wimbledon, again due to knee pain.

Returning in February 2013, he won ten tournaments that year, including Roland-Garros, the US Open and five Masters 1000s.

But his most dazzling return, because the most improbable at over 35, is that of 2022.

Eliminated by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros in spring 2021, Nadal faces a sudden awakening from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative necrosis of the bone of the foot (left), disease “chronic and incurable” that he has had to deal with since he was 18.

He is no longer playing this season and, positive for Covid-19 in December 2021, is approaching 2022 with more than approximate preparation.

Winner of the Melbourne tournament, he went on to a historic victory at the Australian Open, which at the time brought the record for Grand Slam titles to 21.

Six months later, he won his 14th Roland-Garros by filling himself with painkillers to anesthetize his ailing foot.

“I think he has unimaginable pain when he gets up in the morning or goes off the field. When Rafa starts to grimace, to say that he has pain somewhere, for us it would be a life-threatening situation! »says former player Fabrice Santoro.

In an interview with AFP in May 2022, Gilles Simon however warned: “Rafa hits the ball a lot better than before, but he runs a lot less well. All of a sudden, it will drop so much physically that it won’t even allow him to hit like he can and the decline will be rapid.”.