Simon Hunter
SPANISH tennis hero Rafa Nadal will have to miss the upcoming Australian Open so that he can receive more treatment to his hip, after a new injury was detected after the Brisbane International tournament.
Nadal, 37, had only just made his return to the tennis circuit after missing nearly a year due to a hip injury. Despite the long absence, he won his first two matches in Brisbane in straight sets last week.
But on Friday he lost his quarter-final match against Jordan Thompson, which is where he picked up this new injury.
“Hi all, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried,” he wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter). “Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news,” he added.
“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in 5 sets matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest,” he said in the tweet.
Spanish tennis fans will be hoping that he makes a speedy recovery from this latest setback, not least so that they can see him at a live exhibition match against countryman Carlos Alcaraz, at an event in Las Vegas due to be live-streamed by Netflix on March 3, 2024.
The match between the 22-time Grand Slam men’s singles title champion Nadal, and fellow Spaniard and current World number 2 Alcaraz, will be broadcast in English and Spanish, and will feature additional players and match-ups that will be announced by Netflix at a later date.
Read more:
- It’s Nadal v Alcaraz! Spain’s top two tennis stars will battle it out at upcoming ‘Netflix slam’
- Spanish tennis legend Rafa Nadal and wife Mery ‘Xisca’ Perello welcome first child
