Rafael Nadal injury update: Spaniard reportedly diagnosed with 7mm tear in abdomen but plans to play in Wimbledon SF against Nick Kyrgios
Arguably the greatest player of all time, Rafael Nadal has time and again pushed his limits on the court. It was no different on Wednesday, as the Spaniard beat Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarterfinals with an abdominal injury.
The Spaniard took a medical timeout midway through and was constantly receiving treatment from the doctor during the match.
The extent of the injury has now been indicated by a report in Spanish newspaper Marca. Nadal was subject to tests on Thursday morning, according to the report, and he will be under the supervision of his coach Marc Lopez until further notice.
"Nadal suffers a break of seven millimeters in one of the abdominal muscles and wants to try to play the semifinal," MARCA reported.
.@RafaelNadal tiene una rotura de siete milímetros en uno de los músculos abdominales pero intentará jugar la semifinal de #Wimbledon bit.ly/3RgZqwQ https://t.co/RTxkFdUJP5
This is not the first time that the Mallorcan has had abdominal injuries. He famously played in the 2009 US Open semifinals against Juan Martin del Potro with the same injury. Nadal did not retire then either, and Del Potro won in straight sets; the Spaniard took just six games in the entire match.
In his Wimbledon quarterfinal against Fritz, Nadal was asked to retire from the match by his father and sister when he opted to take a medical timeout early in the match.
"My sister and father were telling me to retire. For me, it's tough to quit in the middle of a match. I have done that a couple of times in my career, but I hate doing that. That's why I kept fighting, wanting to finish the match regardless of the result."
Rafael Nadal https://t.co/LSEsqGuw3E
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Nadal revealed that he's been suffering from the issue for a while now.
"It's obvious that today is nothing new. I had these feelings for a couple of days. Without a doubt, today was the worst day. Have been an important increase of pain and limitation. And that's it. Let's see what's going on tomorrow,” Nadal said.
An injury-riddled season for Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal has played with injuries throughout his entire career. The most notable injury was to his foot, which has been plaguing the Spaniard since 2006 but was aggravated prior to the French Open this year. En route to winning his 14th title at Roland Garros, the southpaw had to take numerous painkillers and injections to play through the pain.
Nadal also struggled with a rib injury earlier this year. After going up a set against Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals at Indian Wells, the 22-time Slam champion injured his rib.
While Nadal still ended up winning that match, he lost to Taylor Fritz in the final. The Spaniard subsequently had a delayed start to the claycourt season amid his recovery.
25 shots of pure tennis theatre 🎭
@RafaelNadal 🤝 @Taylor_Fritz97
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/KwZg3hpOye
Despite the extreme adversities, Rafael Nadal once again finds himself in the semifinals of Wimbledon. Remarkably, his hopes of a Calendar Grand Slam are still alive.