(Wimbledon) Rafael Nadal has not played at Wimbledon since his defeat in the 2019 semi-finals, but he intends to defend his chances dearly this year, especially since he no longer feels the pain in his foot which has been causing him so much pain for a year and a half, he said on Saturday.
Posted at 12:34 p.m.
“I can walk normally almost every day. For me, that’s the main thing. When I wake up in the morning, I don’t feel that pain anymore that I had for a year and a half, and I’m pretty happy about that,” he explained.
In training, “for the past two weeks, I haven’t had any of those terrible days where I can’t walk anymore. There are days when it goes better, others when it goes less well, but overall it’s positive, ”he said.
The 36-year-old Spaniard has suffered for years from foot pain linked to an incurable and degenerative disease (Müller-Weiss syndrome). The intensity of the pain had become at times unbearable for 18 months, to the point that he considered ending his career.
After having won, at the beginning of June, his 14e Roland-Garros having played thanks to multiple infiltrations to anesthetize his foot, he had announced that he no longer intended to use these injections and that he was going to try a treatment by pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) whose objective is to put the foot to sleep less deeply but in a more durable way than injections.
He will appear on the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club without having played a single competitive match since his title on clay at Roland-Garros. He just played exhibition matches on grass this week in London.
” In 2003 [pour sa première participation, NDLR], I would never have thought to see win Wimbledon. Today, it’s a different story: I have already imposed myself here, ”he said.
Nadal has won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010.