He won the French Open with no feeling in the foot after receiving two pain-killing injections before each of his seven matches in Paris.Īfter the French Open final on June 5, he had a radio frequency injection on a foot nerve in an attempt to alleviate the problem and prolong his career. It’s the third major injury for Nadal this year after a broken rib in March and, in the spring, a recurrence of chronic pain in his left foot that has troubled him for years. Then on Thursday evening, a press conference was scheduled on a half-hour’s notice for 7:20 local time, leading to speculation that he was withdrawing. On Thursday afternoon, he practiced on site. Have been an important increase of pain and limitation.”Īfter Wednesday’s match, Nadal said he would get medical tests on Thursday before determining whether he would play in Friday’s semifinals. Without a doubt, today was the worst day. “I had these feelings for a couple of days.

“A lot of moments I was thinking maybe I will not be able to finish the match,” Nadal said Wednesday.

On Wednesday, he took a medical timeout in the second set against Fritz and was clearly affected by the injury the rest of the match as shown in his serve speeds.Īt one point during play, Nadal’s father was motioning from his player box for him to quit. “I don’t want to go out there, not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to play to achieve my goal, and with big chance to make the things much worse,” the 36-year-old said. Nadal, who expects to miss three or four weeks (but start hitting balls next week), withdrew because playing further could make the injury worse and because, in his current state, he did not think he could win two matches to claim a third Wimbledon title. The pain accelerated in Wednesday’s five-set quarterfinal win over American Taylor Fritz. Nadal, the record 22-time Grand Slam men’s singles champion, said Thursday night that he had abdominal “issues” for the last week. Rafael Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon, citing an abdominal muscle tear, the night before his scheduled semifinal with Nick Kyrgios, sending Kyrgios into Sunday’s final.

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