Tennis: New injury puts Rafael Nadal out of Australian Open
Al Jazeera
The winner of 22 Grand Slam championships has suffered a muscle tear on his hip days after making his long-awaited comeback to competitive tennis.
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Australian Open with an injury after playing just one tournament in his comeback from 12 months on the sidelines.
Nadal said he had concerns over his surgically repaired hip after needing a medical timeout in the third set of his Brisbane International quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.
The Spaniard suffered a small muscle tear during the match.
Nadal’s latest injury casts doubts about the former world number one’s ability to compete at the elite level again after he previously said he expected to finish his glittering but injury-plagued career in 2024.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion made his long-awaited return to competitive tennis in Brisbane after spending almost a year out on the sidelines with a hip flexor injury sustained during his second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in last year’s Australian Open.
