What injury does Nadal have? Nadal vs Kyrgios off as the Spaniard retires with abdominal tear
After suffering an abdominal tear during Wednesday’s match with Taylor Fritz, Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon canceling match vs Nick Kyrgios
Rafael Nadal, who’s also known as the King of clay, suffered a “seven-millimeter tear” in one of his abdominal muscles on Wednesday during his five-set quarterfinal win over American Taylor Fritz.
The 36-year-old paused the match to take anti-inflammatories mid-way at Centre Court, while his father, Sebastian Nadal, was seen gesturing for him to leave the match following the injury.
Nadal, who has won a record 22 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other male player in tennis history, did what he usually does though. He continued persevering through obvious pain, until he won the fifth set tiebreaker that moved him on to the semifinal match with Nick Kyrgios, with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. 5-7, 6-7 (4) victory.
Why is Nadal vs Kyrgios match off?
While the Spaniard was hoping to play the “most watched match of all time” against Kyrgios on Friday morning, Nadal officially withdrew from Wimbledon due to the abdominal muscle tear. That sends the controversial Australian into Sunday’s final.
Speaking with the media today, the 36-year-old said he did not want to push through the injury knowing that his chances of claiming a third Wimbledon title were on the line. Nadal is expected to miss three or four weeks before being able to hit the ball next week.
“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,” said the Spaniard.