Rafael Nadal ends his season

Early defeat in Washington, withdrawal to Toronto, return to Spain ahead of the US Open, everything left him to fear: Rafael Nadal confirmed on Friday that he had to end his season due to the pain in his foot that has hampered him since Roland Garros. .

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“Hello everyone: I wanted to tell you that unfortunately I have to finish my 2021 season. Honestly, I will go through a year where I have more foot pain than I should,” the 35-year-old wrote on his Twitter account, thus drawing a line on the US Championship United Open (August 30 – September 12).

“I have to take some time to solve this problem or at least improve the situation (if I want to be able to play) in the next few years,” adds the world number 4, who has only played two games since his defeat. In the semi-finals at Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic in June.

He then gave up the turf season especially at Wimbledon, then the Olympics, before trying to get back to the North American Tour with a bang.

However, after being eliminated in the round of 16 in Washington in early August, he subsequently withdrew from the Canadian Masters 1000 in Toronto, had abandoned the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and returned to Spain, raising fears of a withdrawal from the US Open where he won four of His 20 Grand Slam titles (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019).

” I need sometime “

“It’s a year when I’ve missed things that matter a lot to me like Wimbledon, the Olympics and now the US Open,” laments Mallorca, stressing that he “hasn’t been so sure this year” to train and prepare or play competitively like he “really loves”.

“At the end of the day, I come to the conclusion that what I need is time to recover, to adjust a number of things, and to try to understand the development of my foot recently,” he says, recalling that he had been delayed by this injury since 2005, but it had not stopped him from pursuing his athletic career. until then.

But now, having gone through a season visibly disrupted by this foot, “it’s time to make decisions and look for a slightly different treatment” in an effort to heal, he explains.

And soon the organizers of the Australian Open sent him a message of support: “Recover quickly and promise strong in 2022 Rafa,” and tweeted as if they were already afraid of the absence of the winner next January 2009.

fighting

Being true to himself, Nadal immediately promised to throw all his strength into the fight against injury, as he does on the court against his opponents.

“With the greatest enthusiasm I will do everything in my power to find the best possible form, and continue to compete with the goals that are most important to me,” he confirmed.

“I am convinced that I can achieve this if my feet heal, and of course with great daily effort,” he added.

“I will work as hard as I can to make it happen. I thank you in advance for your support, which is very important to me in these difficult times. I promise to work hard to try and continue to enjoy this sport for some time to come.”

Nadal is the third player to end his season prematurely with injury after five-time Flushing Meadows winner Roger Federer (knee) and defending champion Dominic Thiem (wrist) in New York.

Thus, the last major of the season will be denied Federer and Nadal for the second year in a row, opening the door a little more to a historic feat for Novak Djokovic, who will be trying to win the major slams after winning this year’s Australian. Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

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