Rafael Nadal has finished his season

The untimely defeat in Washington, the withdrawal to Toronto, the return to Spain before the US Open, all frightened him: Rafael Nadal confirmed on Friday that he had to end his season due to pain in his foot. From Roland Garros.

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“Hello everyone: I want to tell you that unfortunately I have to end my 2021 season. Honestly, I’m living in a year that is far more painful than I should have been,” Spaniard wrote on his Twitter account. 35 years old, which will draw a line at the US Open (August 30-September 12).

“Should I take the time to fix this problem or at least, improve the situation (if I want to play) for the next few years”, adds World No.4, who has played only two games since his defeat. In the semi-finals with Novak Djokovic in Roland Garros in June.

He then skipped the grass season and returned to Wimbledon, especially before touring North America, and then the Olympics.

However, he was eliminated in the 16th round in Washington in early August, after which he withdrew from Canada’s Masters 1000 in Toronto, abandoned Masters 1000 Cincinnati and returned to Spain, where he feared defeat. He has won four of his twenty Grand Slam titles (2010, 2013, 2017, 2019) at the US Open.

“Need some time”

“This is the year I missed so many important things like Wimbledon, the Olympics and now the US Open,” Mallorcon regretted, emphasizing that “this year is not on the scale” to train, prepare or compete. He “really likes to do.”

“At the end of the day, I came to the conclusion that I needed time to recover, to modify many things, to try to understand the evolution of my foot recently,” he said, recalling that he had been sidelined by this injury since 2005, but that did not prevent him from continuing his sporting career until then.

Now, however, after overcoming a clearly damaged season with this period, “it’s time to make decisions and seek a slightly different treatment,” he explained.

The organizers of the Australian Open quickly sent him a message of support: “Win quickly and come back in the 2022 Rafah”, tweeting that they already feared they would not have a winner next January 2009.

Fight

He made himself true, but Nadal immediately promised to throw all his energy into the fight against injury, as he had done in the courts against his opponents.

“With the best enthusiasm I will do everything I can to find the best look, I will continue to compete with the goals that are most important to me,” he assured Friday.

“I am confident that I can achieve this if my foot is healed and, with a lot of daily effort,” he says.

“I will do my best to do it as possible. Thank you in advance for your support, which is very important to me during these difficult times. I promise I will work hard to try to enjoy this sport for a while,” he concluded.

Nadal is the third leading player to end his season prematurely due to injury after five-time Flushing Meadows winner Roger Federer (knee) and title holder Dominic Theme (wrist) in New York.

Losing the last major Major Federer and Nadal for the second year in a row this season has opened the door a little more to a historic feat for Novak Djokovic after winning the Australian Grand Slam this year. Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

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