Rafael Nadal Says He Intends to Play at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal is going to try for the calendar grand slam despite dealing with a left foot injury.
The 22-time grand slam winner won this year’s Australian Open and French Open already, meaning he would need just a Wimbledon and U.S. Open title to complete the historic run.
Only five tennis players in history have completed the calendar grand slam: Don Budge (1938), Maureen Connolly (1953), Rod Laver (1962 and 1969), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988).
There was a chance Nadal could miss Wimbledon after he detailed pain in his foot after finishing the French Open on June 5. However, the Spaniard announced this week that he plans to play at Wimbledon, which begins Monday, June 27.
“My intention is to play Wimbledon,” Nadal said. “If things don’t go as I would like, then we will see what will happen. [But] I am happy. I have gone a week without limping.”
The 36-year-old has been dealing with this foot pain for a while now. It caused him to miss last year’s U.S. Open. He even took some time off in between the Australian Open and French Open to focus on recovering from a stress crack on his rib.
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Nadal has had a historic year, to say the least. He started out 2022 by winning 20 straight matches, including three titles in that time. He broke the record for most Grand Slam titles held by a men’s tennis player when he won the Australian Open. Now, he leads Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer by two titles.
Nadal is currently ranked No. 4 in the world. He will enter as the second seed in the Wimbledon draw, though, as No. 2 Alexander Zverev will miss the tournament due to an injury he suffered while playing Nadal in the French Open semifinals. Additionally, No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is not allowed to play in this year’s Wimbledon after the tournament banned Russian players from participating. Djokovic will play as the No. 1 seed.
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