Rafael Nadal’s fans – and beyond the entire tennis microcosm – feared the news given the Spaniard’s grimaces during his quarter-final defeat against the Australian Jordan Thompson, in Brisbane (Australia), on 5 January. The person himself announced it on his social networks on Sunday: physically affected, he must give up playing the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the Australian Open (from January 14 to 29), there where he was injured during the 2023 edition, keeping him away from the courts for almost a year.
“I had an MRI in Melbourne and I have a micro tear in a muscle, not the same area as my injury [en 2023]and that’s the good newswrites the Majorcan in a press release on Twitter and Instagram. For the moment, I am not in a condition to be competitive at the highest level, in the best of five rounds. [le format des matchs en Grand Chelem]. I am returning to Spain to consult my doctor, undergo treatment and rest. »
Operated on June 3, 2023 on the left hip, the former world number one, down to 664e world place, made his comeback this week in Brisbane. Reassuring during his first two matches, easily won respectively against the Austrian Dominic Thiem (7-5, 6-1) then the Australian Jason Kubler (6-1, 6-2), the left-hander had requested a time out medical in the quarter-finals (7-5, 6-7, 3-6 defeat) after feeling muscle pain in the upper left thigh.
“I have worked very hard over the past year to get back on the circuit, he continues in his press release, and like I said before, my goal is to be at my best in three months (…) “, or for the start of the European tour on clay, in the spring, culminating in Roland-Garros (from May 26 to June 9), which he has won fourteen times.
“We all remain positive about the developments [des choses] this season. I really wanted to play here in Australia and I had the chance to play a few matches which made me very happy and positive,” concludes Nadal. Words that sound like farewell to his supporters in the antipodes.