Rafael Nadal, who won this year’s Australian Open tennis tournament, has suffered a rib and will not be able to play for up to six weeks.
Nadal said on his SNS today (23rd), “I can’t play for 4 to 6 weeks due to a rib injury.”
Nadal, who won the Australian Open as the first major event of the season in January of this year, has been on a 20-game winning streak since the opening, but defeated Taylor Fritz 2-0 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open on the men’s professional tennis ATP tour that ended in Indian Wells, California, USA last week. The losing streak ended.
In particular, Nadal did not appear to be in normal physical condition, such as calling a medical timeout twice during the final with Fritz and experiencing some discomfort in breathing.
Upon returning to Spain for a thorough examination, Nadal found a stress fracture in his left rib.
As a result, Nadal is concerned regarding settling for the French Open, the second major event of the season, scheduled to start at the end of May.
The French Open was a particularly strong event for Nadal to win 13 times.
Last year, they lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals and failed to achieve five consecutive victories, but if they regain the supremacy this year, they can increase the record for most men’s singles wins in major tournaments to 22.
Djokovic and Roger Federer each won 20 majors in singles.
If he recovers quickly, Nadal is expected to play at the Madrid Open on the ATP Tour, which starts in early May.
(Photo = Getty Images Korea)
