Rafael Nadal retires: How injuries impacted one of the most successful tennis careers of all time

Nadal volition play his last nonrecreational tourney astatine adjacent month’s Davis Cup finals successful Spain. In caller years, helium often withdrew from tournaments owed to injuries, which affected his crippled astatine different points arsenic well. He said connected societal media, “The world is that it has been immoderate hard years, these past 2 especially. I don’t deliberation I person been capable to play without limitations. It is evidently a hard decision, 1 that has taken maine immoderate clip to make. But successful this life, everything has a opening and an end.” Here’s a recall.

Foot injury

The Spaniard has been struggling with a chronic occupation with his near foot, an ailment that has plagued him passim his career.

“The wounded is thing new,” helium said successful 2021 erstwhile helium announced helium would instrumentality the twelvemonth disconnected aft August to heal. “It’s the aforesaid wounded I americium having since 2005. In that moment, the doctors were precise antagonistic astir my aboriginal career, but honestly I was capable to person a vocation that I ne'er dreamed about, truthful I americium assured I volition retrieve again and if the ft is better, I americium contented with my tennis and mentality volition beryllium determination again soon.”

Nadal missed astir of the 2005 clay play owed to a accent fracture connected his near ft but recovered conscionable successful clip to marque a debut astatine the French Open – which helium ended up winning.

Left enarthrosis troubles and tendonitis

In much than 20 years arsenic a nonrecreational (he turned pro successful 2001), Nadal’s vocation has been riddled with injuries contempt the galore titles he’s won on the way. Along with the near ft injury, he’s had repetitive troubles with his near enarthrosis and tendonitis connected some knees. Tendons are tissues connecting muscles with bones and tin go inflamed oregon swollen owed to injuries oregon strain, resulting successful tendonitis.

He was forced retired of the 2016 French Open due to the fact that of a torn tendon successful his near wrist (his playing arm). In 2021, helium missed playing the ATP Cup for Spain due to the fact that of stiffness successful his backmost and had to play done the occupation astatine the Australian Open.

How was Nadal’s Grand Slam show affected owed to injuries?

Since winning his first-ever Grand Slam astatine the French Open successful 2005, Nadal has skipped competing astatine 18 Majors owed to injury.

A tendonitis occupation successful 2009 kept him retired of the Wimbledon Championships. He missed the 2012 US Open and 2013 Australian Open owed to Hoffa’s syndrome successful his near knee. The information results successful the abdominous cells and connective tissues being inflamed owed to exertion connected the knee. He skipped the US Open successful 2014 owed to troubles with his close wrist, and past the torn tendon helium suffered astatine the 2016 French Open kept him retired of Wimbledon that year.

The aforesaid ft occupation that archetypal ignited a decennary and a fractional anterior kept him retired of Wimbledon and the US Open successful 2021.

His show successful Grand Slams has besides been affected successful caller years. In 2023, helium mislaid successful the 2nd circular of the Australian Open portion dealing with a near hep flexor injury, marking his earliest Grand Slam nonaccomplishment successful 7 years.

Despite these setbacks, Nadal stands retired arsenic 1 of the greats of the crippled who dominated tournaments good into his mid-30s, against overmuch younger players. His 22 Grand Slams are conscionable 2nd to Djokovic, who has won the astir titles successful the modern epoch successful the men’s singles game, astatine 24. Beyond statistics, helium brought aggression and physicality to the athletics astatine large, and a playing benignant which wowed legions of fans — including those of his rivals’.

This is an edited mentation of an explainer archetypal published successful 2021.