Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Australian Open due to injury, a week before the start of the first major tournament of the season. He had just returned to the game after 12 months of absence.
Nadal expressed concern about his hip after requiring a medical timeout during the third set of his quarter-final loss to Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday.
The winner of 22 major singles tournaments initially mentioned that it looked a little more like a muscle problem than the tendon problem that caused him so much pain at this time last year.
However, he posted on social media on Sunday that magnetic resonance imaging scans taken after his arrival in Melbourne revealed a small muscle tear and that he was returning to Spain for treatment.
“During my last match in Brisbane, I had a small muscle problem which, as you know, worried me,” Nadal posted on the social network to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test and I have a microtear in a muscle. Not in the same place where I suffered my injury so that’s good news. At the moment, I am not ready to compete at the maximum level. I’m going back to Spain to see my doctor, get treatment and rest. »
Nadal’s most recent injury comes after he was off the court for nearly a year and underwent hip surgery in June. The former world number one also had a history of knee and foot problems which many believed would have threatened his ability to stay on the tour for as long as he has.
Nadal’s latest comeback looked promising as he won his first two competitive matches in a year before losing to Thompson. He lost three match points in the second set by making unusual errors before losing in three sets.
“A lot of things can happen to a body like mine after a year without playing tennis,” he said after the loss to Thompson. I hope it’s just that, a muscle that’s overpowered. If so, great. »
The 37-year-old Spaniard began the tournament in Brisbane with straight-sets victories over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler. His duel against Thompson lasted three hours and 25 minutes, in his third match in four nights.
Nadal had received an invitation to play in Brisbane, but his ranking was protected ahead of the Australian Open. He could therefore have been one of the 128 players present in the main draw.
Since arriving in Australia, Nadal appeared to have lowered his expectations for what he could achieve during his tour across the country. Rather, his goal was to be in shape for the clay-court season and the Roland-Garros tournament in May, where he won 14 titles, which is a record.
“I worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I have always mentioned, my goal is to be at my best level in three months,” he said. Despite the sad news for me of not being able to play in front of the incredible crowd in Melbourne, it’s not all bad news and we all remain positive about how the season is going. I really wanted to play here in Australia and I had the chance to play a few matches which made me very happy and positive. »
The Australian Open is scheduled to get underway on January 14 at Melbourne Park. Novak Djokovic, the world number one who has won a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles, is the favorite to win top honors.