MELBOURNE-. Rafael Nadal retired from Australian Open due to an injury a week before the first major of the season, after playing just one tournament on his return after 12 months without playing.
Nadal said he was concerned about his hip surgery after needing a medical timeout in the third set of his Brisbane International quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.
The 22-time major winner initially said it seemed like a more muscular problem than the tendon complications that caused him so much pain this time last year.
However, on Sunday he wrote on social media that scans carried out after his arrival in Melbourne revealed a small tear in the muscle, and that he will travel back to Spain for treatment.
“Hello everyone, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem with a muscle that, as you know, had me worried,” Nadal commented on X, formerly Twitter. “Once I got to Melbourne, I had the opportunity to have an MRI and I have a micro tear in a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury, and that is good news.”
“Right now I am not prepared to compete at the highest level of demand. “I am returning to Spain to see my doctor, receive treatment and rest,” he explained.
Nadal’s latest setback comes after being off the court for almost a year and undergoing surgery on his problematic hip in June. The former world number one also had a history of knee and foot problems that many thought would threaten his ability to stay on the tour as long as he has.
But Nadal’s latest comeback looked promising as he won his first two competitive matches in a year before losing to Thompson. He wasted three match points in the second set with uncharacteristic errors in his quarterfinal before falling in three.
The 37-year-old Spaniard opened the tournament with straight-set wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler, but Thompson pressured him for 3 hours and 25 minutes in what was his third match in four nights.
The Australian Open is scheduled to begin on January 14 at Melbourne Park.
Source: AP
