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Rafael Nadal has appendicitis, will try to play Shanghai Masters
SHANGHAI, China -- Rafael Nadal's 2014 season is in question after he felt abdominal pain over the weekend and was diagnosed with appendicitis. Nadal, who was sidelined for the last three months with a right wrist injury, told reporters at the Shanghai Rolex Masters that aside from going to the hospital on Sunday, he had not left his hotel room until Tuesday, when he arrived on site in the late evening for a short practice. After 45 minutes of hitting, Nadal decided he would try to play the tournament, where he faces off against Feliciano Lopez in his first match on Wednesday evening.
"I had tough three days since I arrived here," Nadal said. "My thought now is [I'm] going to try to play tomorrow, yes. I have to wait about how my night goes, how I wake up tomorrow morning."
The Evolution of Tennis Fashion: Rafael Nadal
2003
Here's 16-year-old Nadal, sporting his short-shorts and incredibly baggy T-shirt. Do those sleeves cover his elbow? Yes, they do.
2003
Still swimming in shirts -- and he wasn't the worst one at the tournament.
2003
Nadal's billowing shirt -- in a new, lime-green color -- makes it easier for torso exposure during the match.
2004
Still sticking with the white headband, Nadal finally opts for a better-fitting top.
2004
Nadal continues the aggressive look of his soon-to-be signature sleeveless shirt and makes his transformation into a style icon.
2004
A mustard yellow sleeveless top and thick, white wristbands for New York.
2005
The addition of his "piratas" marked the birth of Nadal's trademark look: sleeveless tops and capri-length pants.
2005
The beginning of Nadal's love for orange, and Nike's love for waved, two-toned designs.
2005
Nike put a green-spin on Rafa's signature style just in time for his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.
2005
Rafa went with an all-white, collared and quarter-zip version of his sleeveless top for the All England Club.
2005
Nadal sported a rare monochrome top for his win over Andre Agassi in the final of the Rogers Cup.
2005
This skin-tight, sleeveless crop top was a one-time wonder at the U.S. Open, after Nadal lost in the third round.
2006
Back to orange -- and a distinctive Nadal dive -- at Indian Wells.
2006
Nike went with a two-toned sleeveless top for the French Open. Black in the back...
2006
...and Roger Federer-matching blue in the front. And with that, never again did Nike try to make two kits out of one swath of fabric for its two male stars.
2006
Rafa looks sleek and sharp in his Wimbledon whites, adorned with strokes of black.
2006
Nadal got a brief respite from his capris with these long shorts for the summer. (He lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals at this U.S. Open.)
2006
Nadal embodies his country's colors with this red and yellow ensemble as he represented Spain at the Davis Cup.
2007
Back to the piratas, looking like a man prepared to hit the Australian Outback.
2007
Pirata twinsies!
2007
At this point it became clear that while Nike would kit Roger Federer out in conservative solid colors, Nadal was going to get the bold neon colors.
2008
Nadal in Karate Kid patterned headbands? No.
2008
Nadal goes green in his 2008 French Open winning kit.
2008
Greatest match of all time = Greatest kit of all time? Is that how it works?
2008
The orange headband and wristbands were odd, but Nadal's Spain kit was worthy of a gold medal in Beijing.
2008
Nike's insistence on putting random patterns on Rafa has always been a head-scratcher.
2009
Nike finally goes with a polo shirt with sleeves. And thus begins the fashion maturation of Rafa Nadal.
2009
An underrated kit. Simple, clean, but still fun.
2009
At this point it became clear that collars were not going to work on Rafa.
2009
Nadal's only loss at Roland Garros came in this garishly-pink collared shirt. Not a trophy-worthy look.
2009
Patterned shorts. Let's not.
2010
Then again, patterned shorts done right. The subtlety is key.
2010
Nadal wins his second Wimbledon title in a v-neck.
2010
This was 100 percent, hands down the best kit Rafa's ever worn. Darth Nadal was a treat.
2011
Nadal ended up tearfully losing to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals at this Australian Open, but all we can remember is his distractingly large t-shirt.
2011
Once again, bright solid colors to the rescue.
2011
Federer's Red vs. Nadal's Blue at the French Open.
2012
Somewhere along the line Nadal's shirts became much clingier.
2012
Victory Red.
2013
Sadly the sombrero was not a permanent accessory.
2013
A simple kit for Nadal's eighth French Open title.
2013
Slate bluish-grey with hot pink accents, Nike once again delivered for Rafa in New York.
2013
The era of short-shorts begins.
2014
No really, they got really short.
2014
A return to blue in Madrid.
2014
Nadal wins his ninth French Open in gray thigh-bearing shorts. Boxers, essentially.
Nadal played three matches in his first tournament since Wimbledon last week at the China Open, losing in the quarterfinals to Martin Klizan on Friday. He arrived to Shanghai on Saturday and began to feel pain in his abdomen that evening. Unable to sleep through the night, a doctor was called on Sunday morning. He advised him to go to the hospital for further evaluation and treatment. At the hospital he was diagnosed with appendicitis and given two options: surgery or aggressive treatment with antibiotics. Nadal opted for the latter.
"They told me that sometimes that can work and we can avoid the surgery," Nadal said. "That's what I did. I was in the hospital on Sunday. Yesterday the nurse came to my room to put me again the treatment. Today I was in the hospital in the morning again. I did again the antibiotic. Seems like everything is under control now."
Rafael Nadal tempers expectations after China Open loss
Whether Nadal will undergo surgery when he returns back to Spain after the tournament is up in the air. The doctor in Shanghai told Nadal that he has to have the surgery sooner or later, but Nadal hasn't thought that far ahead. "My idea is take it out, but you can imagine that I didn't [think] much about that yet," Nadal said. "I am here in Shanghai, no? I just want to try. Then when I come back home, I will see the situation with my doctor."
Nadal says he's not 100 percent and still feels some pain, but assuming he feels better on Wednesday he will take the court. "I am here to play a tournament," Nadal said. "If there is no risk for getting worse, is the same [to] lose [than] if you don't play. If I don't play, I don't have the possibility to win. So that's it."
Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.