There Is a Silver Lining Behind Rafael Nadal’s Sudden Withdrawal From Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England—When Rafael Nadal calls an impromptu press conference late in the evening during a Grand Slam, the chances for good news are slim.

It was the case Thursday, when the 22-time Grand Slam champion told reporters he was withdrawing from Wimbledon before a much-anticipated semifinals clash against Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal tear that was aggravated during a five-set marathon victory over Taylor Fritz in the previous round.

Nadal said it was a “difficult decision,” given how well he was playing throughout the fortnight, but realized that the injury would worsen had he played on.

The announcement also means Kyrgios will advance to his first Grand Slam final and face the winner of the Novak Djokovic-Cameron Norrie semifinal Friday. Kyrgios, a controversial player whose career-best run here has been clouded by abuse allegations, will be well-rested for the final and has a 2-0 career record against Djokovic (if the 20-time Slam champ advances).

But Thursday is about Nadal, as his announcement meant his bid for the Calendar Slam was also over after he won this year’s Australian and French Opens.

If you caught his epic quarterfinals match against Fritz on Wednesday—Nadal rallied from being down 2-sets-to-1 and forced a fifth-set tiebreak en route to victory—you’ll remember when his father, Sebastian, was yelling for his son to stop playing from the player’s box. Some might question why Nadal didn't withdraw, but he knows his body better than anyone. And while his service motion and power on that particular shot was conspicuously hampered by the injury, his engrained persistence and tennis talents propelled him to persist and play on.

The next question: So, if that’s the case, why didn’t he try to play on? He was riding a 19-straight Slam match winning streak with a record 23rd major title on the line. He did try, by taking to the practice courts Thursday. His session was roughly 33 minutes and he even hit some serves, but was clearly experiencing discomfort. Later, after another round of treatment, and tests revealing the severity of the tear, he believed playing on would risk aggravating the injury even more and affect the rest of his 2022 calendar.

And that’s where the silver lining is in all of this.

Before this abdominal injury, Nadal has endured a brutal and physical season despite his success—in late March, he sustained a stress fracture in his rib, and later continued to battle a chronic foot injury that forced him to miss most of the clay season (his best surface) before making another victorious run in Paris.

He’s 36 and he knows he has to be strategic in how he manages his body and playing time. This decision Thursday tells us he is still thinking about continuing his career, keeping to his schedule and working toward being sufficiently healthy for the U.S. Open.

Rafa wants to play on. He’s not done yet. That is one of the bigger takeaways from his decision at Wimbledon. 

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