By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
22-time Grand Slam champion and tennis legend Rafael Nadal will not be suiting up for the 2024 Australian Open main draw.
The Spanish sensation made everything official after announcing the major development on his social media accounts.
“Hi all. During my last match in Brisbane, I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know, made me worried. Once I got to Melbourne, I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have a micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news,” Nadal posted on X.
Nadal suffered the injury during his grueling quarterfinal showdown against Jordan Thompson of Australia that ended with a three-set loss.
After almost a year of hiatus from competitive tennis, Nadal returned with a bang but lost gas against Thompson when the match went as far as four hours.
Nadal was on track for another huge momentum swing after surviving a grueling first set but would later on commit several unforced errors which was capitalized by Thompson midway through the second set.
During the third, Nadal piled up a series of surprising errors from the baseline while Thompson continued his consistent and steady offense.
Before losing to Thompson, Nadal swept the first two rounds after demolishing Dominic Thiem in the Round of 32 and Jason Kubler in the Round of 16.
“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in 5 set matches. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest,” Nadal added.
With that being said, Nadal’s plans to return to the Grand Slam stage will have to face a delay and will look to regroup for the French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon.
