Picture Credit: X
Days after hitting the ground and confirming his return to professional tennis, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm his decision to withdraw from the upcoming Australian Open 2024. This comes as a shocking news to the entire world after the 37-year-old had last month confirmed a positive update.
Nadal, who made a winning return to the Brisbane International, registering comprehensive wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler after a year-long extended break due to hip flexor injury, which further required a surgery. However, he has now sustained a muscle tear, and confirmed it is a new injury from the earlier one.
“Hi all, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried. Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news. Right now I am not ready to complete at the maximum level of exigence in 5 sets matches,” he captioned the post on X.
He further confirmed that he will fly back to Spain for further treatment. “I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”
“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in 3 months. Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season,” he added thanking all for their support.
The Australian Open official handle also confirmed the update, writing, “We will miss you in Melbourne, Rafa. Sending all our love and best wishes for a speedy recovery. See you on the court soon.”
