(Madrid) Rafael Nadal announced on Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, a new blow to the world tennis star, which has hampered his preparations for the Australian Open, where he is due to return after a month-long injury.
Mallorcon, who returned from Abu Dhabi to participate in the exhibition tournament, revealed on Twitter that “when I arrived in Spain I was declared positive on the PCR test”.
“I have a bad time, but I hope to improve a little bit,” said the 20-time Grand Slam tournament winner, now world no. 6, is now “confined” to his home.
The player, who did not say if he had symptoms, warned “everyone who is in contact with him”.
During the Abu Dhabi tournament, Nadal was photographed unidentified at the age of 83 by former Spanish King Juan Carlos, who rarely appeared in public during his exile in the Emirates.
The former emperor is “well”, but will conduct a PCR test due to his acquaintance with the player, a palace spokesman told AFP.
For his part, Nadal suggested that he “show total flexibility” with his “schedule” and analyze options according to his “evolution”. “I will let you know about any decision regarding my next tournaments,” he assured.
Put the break on a full return
The announcement is a blow to the former world number one, as it comes less than a month before the Australian Open, where the Spanish player has signed on to return to the Grand Slam.
The left foot, who missed Wimbledon and the US Open, has not been in attendance since this summer due to injury, but the player did not want to show off his ambitions for the first Grand Slam of the year, which is scheduled from January 17 to January 30 in Melbourne.
As a prelude to the tournament, the left-hander will soon travel to Australia to take part in the ATP 250 in Melbourne from January 3 to 9.
The player suffers from Mల్లller-Wise Syndrome, a degenerative disease that causes deformity of one of the bones in the middle of the foot.
To assess his physical condition, Nadal met with people at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Tournament on Friday. He lost to Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov.
The Australian Open is being held amid the new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
Long before the tournament, Australian authorities had warned foreign players, their entourage and all members of their management to be vaccinated against entering the country.
These rules cast doubt on Serbia’s World No.1 Novak Djokovic’s involvement, refracting the vaccine. However, “Knoll”, who declined to say officially whether he was vaccinated, appeared on the list of players announced at the next Australian Open ten days ago.
Melbourne, Australia’s second city, suffered a total detention of more than 260 days due to COVID-19, making it one of the longest undercover cities in the world.
It should also see the return of three more stars at the Australian Open after several months of absence: Ashley Barty, World No. 1, Naomi Osaka, ex-N. WTA’s 1, as well as Gail Monfils.
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