Rafael Nadal has an impressive record of 22 Grand Slam and 36 Masters titles. However, his career has been hampered by a series of injuries, affecting his ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, and most recently, his hips. Over his two-decade career, the Spanish star has missed four and a half years of Grand Slam events and had to withdraw from five others.
However, the 37-year-old star has announced that he is working hard for a comeback to the court in the 2024 Australian Open after competing only three times in 2023.
Rafael Nadal wants to return in Australian Open
Rafael Nadal’s ranking fell to below 200 after he injured his hip and suffered an unexpected loss to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round. In June, he had hip-flexor surgery and told his fans he would be back in 5 to 6 weeks, but that hasn’t happened.
After Australian Open CEO Craig Tiley announced that the Rafael Nadal would be featuring in the 2024 edition of the Australian Open, Nadal responded to Tiley’s comments by saying on X: “I appreciate the vote of confidence from the Australian Open. I am practising every day and working hard to come back asap.”
Meanwhile, in a recent event in Madrid, Nadal was asked about his fitness level and he said he was getting better everyday but added, “My first realistic option to be back on the professional court would be January in Australia. But right now, I really can’t confirm something I don’t know. Nothing has changed in the last few weeks except for the fact that I’m training a bit more than before, which is an accomplishment for me and my mental health.”
“I’m not training without pain. I’m in less pain than I used to be, but I’m still in pain,” the fourteen-time Roland Garros winner said. “However, this pain allows me to do more and more things eventually. Things would be different if I had zero pain. I could give you a date for my return if I had zero pain because I would have time to prepare myself for that.”
How many injuries has Rafael Nadal had over the course of his career
Rafael Nadal has astonishingly had fourteen injuries in twenty years and the Spanish tennis player doesn’t seem like backing down after everything. Nadal’s first injury came the year he turned pro, just 17; he suffered an elbow injury that postponed his French Open debut.
The following year, he suffered a stress fracture in his ankle, which forced him to postpone his debut at Roland Garros and the Olympics by a year. Over the next three years, the Spanish athlete faced foot injuries, forearm injuries, and dizziness, leading to his absence from the Australian Open.
In 2008, Nadal played for months with serious pain in both knees, which led to his first loss at the French Open. From 2010 to 2013, Rafael Nadal faced four injuries, forcing him to retire from three Grand Slam events and withdraw from the London Olympics in 2012.
In 2014 alone, he suffered two injuries, a wrist and a back injury. From 2016 to 2021, Rafael Nadal enjoyed a five-year break from injuries. However, in 2021, he experienced a foot injury, and in 2022, he had an abdominal tear. In 2023, he sustained his longest injury, sidelining him for eleven months.
