Wimbledon is left without Rafa Nadal 0:33
(CNN Spanish) --
Rafael Nadal had to withdraw from Wimbledon due to pain that almost forced him not to finish the quarterfinal match and will not play the semifinal against Nick Kyrgios.
It is an abdominal injury that had him hunching over in pain in his quarterfinal match against Taylor Fritz.
But the biggest winner of Grand Slam titles (22) and considered the best tennis player on clay in history is not a rookie when it comes to injuries and pain, in fact it is something that has accompanied him for much of his career and is a Another aspect of his sports legend: Nadal has played many times injured.
Nadal has been plagued by injuries throughout his career.
Notorious this year was a rib injury sustained at Indian Wells in March (the final of which he lost), which at one point seemed to threaten his participation in the French Open in May (which he won).
Last year, Nadal suffered a back injury at the start of the season and was then forced to miss the second half of 2021 with a foot injury.
That time out meant that he was unable to compete at Wimbledon or the Olympics.
All those ailments only made it all the more impressive that he was able to win his 21st Grand Slam at the Australian Open in early 2022 and then Roland Garros, the 22nd Grand Slam. Reaching the Wimbledon semi-final is no small feat.
He is 36 years old, has been playing for 21 years, is the 4th in the ATP world ranking and one of the most important tennis players in history: he has accumulated 209 weeks as number 1 in the world, and is the sixth in that ranking of total weeks as leader of the ATP (He is led by Novak Djokovic, current 3 in the world).
He has won an ATP Tour title in 19 consecutive seasons (2004-2022) and holds the record for consecutive weeks in the Top 10 (2005-2022), with 870 weeks.
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Rafael Nadal after indicating an injury during a break against Taylor Fritz during their Wimbledon quarterfinal match (Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal says injuries leave him in pain 'every day'
Last May, an interaction with a reporter laid bare the toll a 21-year career has taken on Rafael Nadal's body, as the Spanish tennis star said he endures pain "every day".
After his win over David Goffin at Roland Garros, which was decided by a tough third-set tie-break, Nadal limped into his post-match press conference, prompting a reporter to question him about his apparent discomfort.
"No, don't worry," the 21-time Grand Slam champion replied.
"When I play, my foot sometimes hurts. If you see me every day, you wouldn't worry. I always have pain in my foot, especially after playing a three-hour match or a long training session. I end up walking a bit poorly.
“But I have a chronic injury that has no treatment.
That's part of my life, and that's the bad thing about not being able to finish the game earlier.
In the short term, I think I'm fine, physically speaking, but also speaking about my feet, we have to adapt to the competition, we have to adapt to the stress that matches like today put on me".
“In the short term, as I said, it's fine, but I'm also aware for tomorrow.
It's a bit more complicated because tomorrow I can wake up with more problems and we have to accept it and face it”.
Lift an injured Grand Slam
The context of his win at this year's French Open makes that title seem especially special, and no less unlikely, for Nadal.
At the Italian Open in May, Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament against Denis Shapovalov in the round of 16 while battling a foot injury, an ongoing problem that Nadal said required daily injections at the French Open in order to continue playing. and training.
This meant that he played the final without any feeling in his foot.
"After the pandemic, something happened to my foot. I am not able to bear the pain to play often and even train," Nadal said.
"The only thing I can say is that going through all these challenges, I always keep the passion to keep going and always keep the love for the game," he added.
"I've always wanted to move on. That's probably why I'm in the position I'm in today."
But Nadal, ever ready to downplay his achievements, believes his record at Roland Garros could one day be surpassed.
"I've always considered myself a very normal guy; if I did it, maybe someone else can," he told CNN's Christiane Amanpour.
After France, Nadal said he had no retirement planned for Wimbledon and managed to advance to the semi-final.
What Rafael Nadal has missed due to injuries
Nadal has missed 10 Grand Slams due to injury: the Australian Open in 2006 (left foot) and 2013 (stomach virus);
the Roland Garros in 2003 (elbow) and 2004 (left ankle);
Wimbledon in 2004 (left ankle), 2009 (knee) and 2016 (left wrist);
and the US Open in 2012 (left knee), 2014 (right wrist) and 2021 (left foot), according to the ATP.
Nadal has undergone surgeries for appendicitis in November 2014, for his right ankle in November 2018 and for his left foot in 2021.
With information from Matias Grez, George Ramsay, Christiane Amanpour and Alicia Lloyd of CNN
Rafael Nadal Wimbledon