The King of Clay will miss the start of his favorite part of the season.
Rafael Nadal is out for 4-6 weeks after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib following the BNP Paribas Open. Nadal struggled physically at the end of his semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz and it was clearly a factor during his 6-3, 7-6(5) loss to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells title match.
“Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that I’m back in Spain and I went straight to see my medical team for tests after the Indian Wells final, which I played in discomfort,” Nadal wrote on social media (translated from Spanish). “I have a stress fracture in one of my ribs and I will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. It’s not good news and I didn’t expect this. I am devastated and sad because after such a good start to the season I have had.
“Now is a very important time of the year for me and I had a very good feeling (on the court) and good results. Well, I have always had that spirit of fighting and overcoming and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again I would like to thank everyone for their support.”
“Good results” would be an understatement.
The 35-year-old Spaniard was 20-0 this season prior to coming up short against Fritz. That undefeated run included three titles–a 250 in Melbourne, the Australian Open, and a 500 in Acapulco. In addition to his thriller against Alcaraz, Nadal also beat Sebastian Korda (from 5-2 down in the third set), Dan Evans, Reilly Opelka, and Nick Kyrgios in the desert.
Nadal’s withdrawal from the Miami Open was unrelated to the rib issue. The 21-time Grand Slam champion had already been planning on getting some rest in between four consecutive hard-court tournaments and the beginning of the clay-court swing. In fact, he withdrew from Miami before even playing his first match in Indian Wells.
A timeframe of 4-6 weeks will sideline Nadal from at least the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona. The world No. 3 will be hoping to return for Madrid, Rome, and the French Open.
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Barty & Rafa: study in contrasts in approaching the challenges of greatness in professional tennis . . . each a role model
I’m not going to kick a man while he’s down. But yeah, told you so.
Told us what!!??
That playing the post-Australian hardcourt season would come at a cost. Whether that cost was justified, remains to be seen.
When you’re his age, you don’t know you’re pushing yourself too far until it’s too late. But, with the amount of money he has and the people around him, this shouldn’t have happened. Play the Mexican Open or IW, but not both. That’s was pushing it way too far at 35.
Oh please! You know nothing about Rafa and his team and their decision making process. It’s just another opportunity to trash Rafa. It does not take any brains to criticize someone after the fact for becoming injured.
Playing tennis cones with a certain amount of risk. Who is to say that this could have happened during the clay season? It happened over a period of time. Rafa is getting older and new injuries may happen. Anyone who thinks they know for sure how this could have been avoided, is kidding themselves.
Rafa took necessary precautions. After the AO he took about a month off. So let’s dispense with the idea that anyone knows when or where this would have occurred.
Rafa wanted to do what he loves to do best – play tennis. He can’t sit around playing computer games. He has an excellent team to help him with scheduling.
I said it before but it bears repeating – I have no issue with Rafa playing these tournaments.
Nadal needs to err on the side of caution if he wants to keep playing for another 5 years.
Glad you’re not my player manager or coach, NNY.
Anonymous,
I am glad that I don’t have to read your garbage anywhere but here.
Rafa is erring on the side of caution. If you had a brain you would realize that playing tennis comes with risks.
You don’t guve a damn about Rafa. So spare me the phony concern.
To all Rafans ..a detailed thread ..yes it showed up in the sf match but it was a gradual build up from start of season due to sudden coming back on tour after 6 months n some matches were long n brutal too . If not now it could have occured during clay ,so it’s good it happ now so that he can rest n heal it ..
https://mobile.twitter.com/genny_ss/status/1507070092890284037
Reading this I am happy it occured now when he was going to take 3 weeks off n not play so that the absence will be minimal from tour. I see this as divine intervention because the timing was perfect ..the best timing was to get it post Acapulco but then it’s okay just imagine had it happened mid clay season ? The RG would be off the calendar,so as hard asit is , it’s good it happened now than later
Sanju,
This is the point I was trying to make in my latest comment. Since this has progressed over time, it could have happened in the midst of the clay season. You never know when the body just breaks down from something.
That would have been a disaster. I was feeling down about the injury, and then it occurred to me that it could have happened any time. tab,east now Rafa has the time to recover. We know he doesn’t need much preparation for clay. It could have been even worse.
Rafa can get treatment and also some rest and hopefully he will come back strong for the clay season.
Rafa looks so deeply disappointed in that pressor! Must be so frustrating for him getting injured like that! But it’s par for the course…….he didn’t let it get in the way of his success!!
Is this even true ? Does this explain why Patrick has been singing hosanas abt djokovic past month
https://www.essentiallysports.com/atp-wta-tennis-news-serena-williams-coach-patrick-mouratoglou-reportedly-to-succeed-marian-vajda-in-novak-djokovics-team/
We think of Iga as one of Rafas big fans but Barty is a huge Rafan too. She singles out rafa in particular whilst talking about longevity. Our rafa seems to be a big hit on the wta tour 🙂
https://www.sportskeeda.com/tennis/news-rafael-nadal-amazing-sport-tennis-fan-see-extended-period-pleasure-ashleigh-barty?traffic_source=Connatix
The more physical a tennis players game is, the more risk of injuries.
Rafa may still be playing very well into his old age but his inability to sustain his level and fitness for more than a few month of a season is nothing new.
Big hit on the WTA tour is no surprise though, most of his fans are female.
Interview of Rafas doctor ..read in English translation
https://www.puntodebreak.com/2022/03/25/angel-ruiz-cotorro-hay-paciencia-seguro-rafa-recuperar-100
Where is the English translation?
Nny page gives option of English translation…you see Spanish n English below ..choose English
Why do you think most of his fans are female ..any reason ?
I don’t think so..in india he has lot and lot of male fans too and a lot in 20-40 age bracket
I meant most of the ones on general tennis forums like this that arent fan based. Thats interesting though- why India of all places?
I think because young men like his grit ,determination n he is inspiring. His entire story n journey of fighting against all odds n overcoming obstacles is inspiring and India is a demographically young country with average age of maybe 27
I know for a fact that kids love Rafa a lot more than the other 2. You don’t have to look anywhere beyond novaks son Stefan who is a Rafa admirer