TENNIS
How many injuries has Rafael Nadal had during his professional tennis career?
The 38-year-old has skipped Wimbledon after missing most of 2023 and some of 2024 due to injury. We look at the legendary Spaniard’s long history of medical issues.
After spending practically all of 2023 on the sidelines, Rafa Nadal announced that he would be returning for the Brisbane International, which started on New Year’s Eve 2023. After beating Dominic Thiem then Jason Kubler in Brisbane, Rafa lost the quarter final to Jordan Thompson but suffered a small muscle tear that ruled him out of the next event, the Australian Open.
Nadal given emotional send-offs in Barcelona, Madrid and Paris
Since then, Nadal has been selective about which tournaments he has entered. He was scheduled to appear at the Indian Wells Open in March but withdrew, explaining that he had reservations after training and didn’t feel in conditions for his opening match against World No. 3 Milos Raonic.
Understandably, he didn’t want to miss the one on home turf - the Barcelona Open (knocked out in the round of 32 by Alex de Minaur) and the Madrid Open (eliminated by Jiri Lehecka in the last 16); or his favorite, Roland Garros. While he is currently injury-free, Rafa deliberately decided to give Wimbledon a miss once again, as to not jeopardize his participation at the Paris Olympic Games.
With injuries now becoming more frequent at this stage of his career, he needs to look after himself more than ever. His injury history has been varied, with some more serious than others. The Spaniard veteran has gone through everything from a stomach virus to tendonitis to appendix surgery being needed. Here is a list of all Nadal’s injuries throughout his career:
2003: Elbow injury
Nadal’s first major injury came when he was just 17-years-old, after he suffered a fall on his elbow in training in Manacor and was forced to postpone his French Open debut.
2004: Stress fracture in ankle
The next one came in the form of a stress fracture in his ankle that made sure he had to wait even longer for his Roland Garros debut. This one came against Richard Gasquet at Estoril. He also missed Wimbledon with the same injury, as well as the Athens Olympics.
2005/6: Foot injury
Before the tournament began, Nadal withdrew from the Paris Masters and ATP Finals and was out for three months with an injury to the sole of his left foot. He misses the Australian Open and had not played since winning the Madrid Masters in October 2005, but finally he returns to action the following February. There were rumours that this injury could have caused long term damage.
2007: Forearm injury/dizinness
“I wasn’t feeling very well when I went to the court. On the way, I felt dizzy all time. It was a tough day”, Nadal said after withdrawing from the Cincinnati Masters match against Juan Monaco. The player was also suffering from cramp in his left forearm, saying “I wasn’t grasping the racket very well. I didn’t feel anything when I was touching the racket.”
2008/9: Tendonitis
The first of two tendonitis injuries was made public after Nadal lost in his first French Open loss, against Robin Soderling. It was revealed that the Spaniard had been playing for months with pain in both knees. In 2008, Nadal retired from the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters after losing the first set 6-1 to Nikolay Davydenko, and blamed it on a knee injury that turned out to also be tendonitis. He skipped Wimbledon as a result.
2010: Knee injury
Nadal retires from the third set of the Wimbledon quarter-finals against Andy Murray with another knee injury.
2012: Tendonitis/patella tendon injury
After the first setback from tendonitis and a patella tendon tear, Nadal loses in the second round of Wimbledon to Lukas Rosoldecides. He decides that it is best not to defend his title at the London Olympics and he sits it out, as well as missing the US Open that year. It is the biggest injury of Nadal’s career until this point.
2013: Stomach virus
Practicing for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, was not on the cards for Nadal who suffered a bout of a nasty stomach virus that forced him to miss the tournament.
2014: Wrist injury and appendix surgery
A long run of perfect wrist health came to an end when the Spaniard injured himself during a practice session in July and subsequently withdrew from Toronto, Cincinnati and US Open. He returned in September but was forced off the court just a month later due to surgery that needed to be carried out on his appendix.
2014: Back injury
Perhaps the most heartbreaking of all the injuries suffered by Nadal was the the back issue he sustained in the US Open final against Stan Wawrinka, against whom he had a 12-0 record. The Spaniard felt pain in the warmup and tried to carry on, but the issue got progressively worse and forced him to quit.
2016: Wrist injury
Rafa’s return at the 2016 Olympics, where he picks up the gold medal, is an impressive achievement after spending time on the sidelines due to a wrist injury sustained at the French Open which also kept him out of Wimbledon.
2021: Foot injury
The Olympics and Wimbledon are both missed after Nadal takes advice to rest amid a foot injury that had been giving him pain for a number of weeks. Known as Mueller-Weiss condition, it forced him out of the 2021 Roland Garros where Nadal lost to Djokovic in the semi-finals. He had surgery to fix the issue and missed the rest of the year after an earlier attempt to come back had failed.
2022: Abdominal tear
Nadal suffered an abdominal tear just days before Wimbledon began and he was forced to quit before his semi-final clash against Nick Kyrgios, which denied the Spaniard the chance to go for the Calendar Year Grand Slam.
2023: Hip injury
The fourteen-time winner missed nearly all of 2023 due to an injury in the iliopsoas muscle, the strongest hip flexor in the body that aids with movement. Nadal also said that 2024 may well be his last season on the pro circuit.
Looking ahead to the remainder of this year’s schedule, after the Paris Games, there is only one tournament left in which Nadal could possibly make an appearance.
The US Open which runs from 26 August until 8 September at Flushing Meadows could be the last time we see Rafa out on court on the ATP circuit although so far, he has only taken part in three events during this year’s program.