Will Rafael Nadal compete at Wimbledon?
The Australian and French Open champion has undergone therapy on his foot injury and is training on grass ahead of the third slam of the season.
Rafael Nadal has put his left foot to the test for the first time following his record-extending 14th French Open title after trying a new treatment on a chronic issue that forced the world number four to play the entire two weeks at Roland Garros with pain-killing injections. Nadal suffers from Müller-Weiss syndrome, a congenital problem that causes bone deterioration, an issue he has been paying with his entire career after first being diagnosed in 2005.
There had been speculation that Nadal may choose to retire after the French Open, but the Spaniard was back out on the practice courts in his native Mallorca this week as he seeks to recover for the grass court season, where he will attempt to add another Wimbledon title to his laurels having already won the Australian and French Opens this season to put himself in a position to complete a calendar year slam for the first time in his career.
Nadal training behind closed doors in Mallorca
Reports in Spain on Monday, Nadal has been training behind closed doors at the Santa Posa Country Club on the Balearic Island, which has grass courts. Radio network SER said that the first impressions among Nadal’s camp were “positive” and that the goal was to see how his foot stands up to the workload ahead of the third slam of the year.
Nadal flew directly to Barcelona from Paris to seek treatment from Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro, his trusted doctor and a Spanish Tennis Federation physician who oversaw his anaesthetic injections at Roland Garros, which essentially put his foot to sleep, as Nadal explained during the tournament.
Nadal’s Barcelona treatment
However, the champion said in a statement after the French Open that it was clear he could not continue to play under such conditions and would seek alternative therapies on his foot. That treatment is known as pulsed radiofrequency and consists of transmitting impulses to the nerves in the area of the injury to lessen the feeling of pain without affecting mobility. After a few days of light physical activity following the treatment, Nadal is now going through his paces on the court to see what effect it has had on his foot with a view to declaring himself ready for Wimbledon.