Rafael Nadal revealed on Sunday that he took multiple injections to mitigate the pain in his left foot throughout his successful French Open 2022 campaign, adding that he is looking forward to trying out some new treatments to help manage the chronic injury concern.
Nadal won his 14th Roland Garros titlemanaging his foot injury well as he defeated as many as 4 top 10 players en route to the top step of the podium at the Philippe Chatrier. On Sunday, Nadal demolished 8th seed Casper Ruud in 2 hours and 18 minutes as he defeated the Norwegian 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the men’s singles final to extend his Grand Slam record to 22 titles.
The 36-year-old Spaniard said he will try some new treatments over the next week to see whether that might allow him to enter Wimbledon, where he has won two of his men’s-record 22 Grand Slam titles. Play begins at the All England Club on June 27.
Speaking at the news conference after his record-extending Roland Garros victory, Nadal said nobody wants to miss Wimbledon and he, of course, has dreams of winning the grass-court major for the third time in his career after triumphant campaigns in 2008 and 2010.
“Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss. I think nobody wants to miss Wimbledon. I love Wimbledon, I have had a lot of success there. Full credit and respect for the tournament. A player like me, I am always ready to play Wimbledon. If you ask if I will be at Wimbledon, I can’t give a clear answer. If want to win Wimbledon, of course, let’s see how the treatment goes,” Nadal said.
NADAL NOT RULING OUT SURGERY
Nadal, however, conceded that it’s difficult to keep taking injections and continue playing on the tour, while stressing that he will see how his body recovers over the next few weeks.
Wimbledon 2022, which will be devoid of any ranking points after the tournament organisers banned Russia and Belarusian players, will get underway from June 27 in London.
“It’s obvious that I can’t keep competing with the foot asleep,” Nadal said.
The Spaniard, who became the oldest men’s singles champion at Roland Garros, said he will consider surgery if the treatment he intends to have doesn’t work.