(Madrid) Rafael Nadal has announced that he was diagnosed positive for COVID-19 after playing an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal wrote on Twitter that the positive result came from a PCR test he had taken when he arrived in Spain.
Nadal said he is going through “unpleasant times”, but he hopes his condition will improve “little by little”.
Former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I, who has lived in the United Arab Emirates since allegations of financial scandals surfaced and embarrassed the Spanish royal household last year, are among those in contact with Nadal.
According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Nadal and Juan Carlos, 83, shared a meal on Saturday. The newspaper also published photos of them posing together without masks.
Nadal mentioned that he had been tested every other day while he was away and that all results came back negative on the last Saturday.
Nadal added that due to the positive result, he will have to adapt his schedule. He said he will analyze his future options based on his condition.
Nadal played his first game in more than four months on Friday, losing in two sets to Andy Murray in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. The chronic foot injury of the 20-tournament Grand Slam champion had forced him to skip the final months of this season.
Nadal hadn’t played a competitive game since early August when he lost to Lloyd Harris in Washington. He missed Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.