“I will return after fully recovering, hope fans can be patient.” That was Rafael Nadal’s message when recently interviewed by Espanola TV channel in his home country of Spain.
A psoas muscle injury and pain in his left leg while participating in the Australian Open in January 2023 have prevented this 36-year-old tennis player from playing any more times since then. A difficult start to the new season for the “clay court king”.
Last week, Rafael Nadal announced on his personal Twitter that he would miss two Masters 1000 tournaments in March, Indian Wells and Miami. Thereby, the Spanish tennis player was knocked out of the top 10 on the ATP rankings. This is truly sad news for Rafael Nadal himself and those who love him.
Up to now, Rafael Nadal is the player with the longest time appearing in the top 10 men’s singles in the world with 912 weeks, spanning from 2005 to present. The achievements of this tennis player born in 1986 even surpass many other legends such as: Jimmy Connors (789 weeks), Roger Federer (742 weeks), Ivan Lendl (619 weeks) or Pete Sampras (565 weeks). In the history of tennis, only female tennis player Martina Navratilova has maintained the top 10 for a longer time than Rafael Nadal. Specifically, the Czech Republic legend once reached the milestone of 1,000 consecutive weeks appearing in the top 10 in the world.
Nearly 18 years of maintaining a position in the top 10 ATP is a prominent and proud highlight in Rafael Nadal’s career. The “King of Clay Court” reached the top 10 men’s singles in the world when he was just 18 years old, specifically on April 25, 2005. After nearly 2 decades with countless ups and downs, Rafael Nadal has become one of the best icons in the history of tennis. But by this time, perhaps, the “reign” of the Spanish legend has come to an end.
Rafael Nadal’s fans still hold out some fragile hope that he can fully recover and regain his form in the upcoming season on clay court – the surface where he is still considered “king”. However, it is not easy. This tennis player himself had to admit: “With all the injuries I have experienced over the past 18 years, maintaining the top 10 up to now is a miracle. I hope to be able to return from the Barcelona Open in mid-April but nothing is certain at this time.”
This year’s clay court season will start in early April and last until the end of Roland Garros (June 11). The upcoming Grand Slam tournament in France is expected to have the full participation of two contemporary legends, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Although not in a difficult situation like his Spanish “rival”, Novak Djokovic also just suffered a sad result with a loss in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tournament to Daniil Medvedev. That loss caused the Serbian tennis player to end his 15-match unbeaten streak since the beginning of 2023.
