Rafael Nadal has suffered a big blow ahead of the European clay swing after a medical evaluation revealed that the 21-time Grand Slam champion sustained a cracked rib during the Indian Wells final.
During his match against Taylor Fritz on Sunday, Nadal said he was suffering from breathing issues but was unaware at the time of what was causing it. The Spaniard lost the final in straight sets which brought an end to his 20-match winning streak. One of the best-ever starts to a season achieved by an ATP player in the Open Era.
Following the final, Nadal returned back to his native Spain where he underwent a consultation with his doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro. It was during the examination where it was concluded that the 35-year-old had suffered a crack in the third-left costal arch of his rib.
“This is not good news and I did not expect this,” Marca newspaper quoted Nadal as saying.
“I am devastated and sad because after the good start of the season that I have had, I reached a very important part of the year with very good feelings and good results.
“But hey, I’ve always had that fighting and overcoming spirit, and what I will do is be patient and work hard after my recovery. Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their support.”
It is estimated that Nadal will be sidelined from action for roughly four to six weeks. Putting his next scheduled appearance at the Monte Carlo Masters in doubt. The first Masters 1000 event of the year on clay starts on April 11th. A week after that is the Barcelona Open, which is an ATP 500. Nadal has won both of those events on multiple occasions.
The diagnosis is the latest blow for Nadal who was also forced to miss a chunk of the Tour last year due to a long-term foot problem he suffers from. He has Mueller-Weiss syndrome which is a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot.
Nadal has already won a trio of Tour titles in 2022 following his stellar start to the season. After triumphing at the Melbourne Summer set, he battled back from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final. Setting a new record for most major titles won by a male player. Following on from that, he also won the Mexican Open where he didn’t drop a set in five matches played.
Should he be sidelined for the full six weeks, Nadal will not play another event until May which will be less than a month before the start of the French Open.
