Rafael Nadal: 'I have found solution for every injury and fully recovered'

The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal had to deal with numerous injuries throughout his career. With a physically demanding style of play and an iron will to chase every possible ball, Rafa had to deal with many setbacks already in his initial years on the Tour, skipping Roland Garros in 2003 and 2004 and withdrawing from the first Masters Cup in 2005. Speaking about injuries, Nadal noted that he was always doing his best to come back stronger, working patiently on his recovery and thinking about the next move that would improve his game once he hits the court again. Dealing with an injury is never easy, and Nadal believes that you have to do everything and continue where you left. For the Spaniard, the most important thing is to recover fully and find your best tennis. Besides many knee and foot injuries, Rafa had to deal with shoulder, wrist, abdomen, hamstring and right ankle problems, skipping many notable tournaments but never dropping out from the top-10 since April 2005, not even during the most extended breaks from the court.

Nadal couldn't play at his best for over two years between 2014-2016, barely staying inside the top-10 and missing the Major trophies in 2015 and 2016 for the first time since 2004! The Spaniard became the world's leading player again in 2017, improving his Major tally and staying in the top-2 ever since.

Rafael Nadal spoke about injuries and how to deal with them in a right way.

The injuries still played a big part in his schedule, as he had to skip many hard-court tournaments in the previous four seasons. Nadal wasn't at his best at the end of 2017 and had to pass Brisbane, Acapulco, Indian Wells, Miami, Queen's, Cincinnati, Beijing, Shanghai, Paris and the ATP Finals in 2018! Rafa had to pass three hard-court Masters 1000 tournaments in 2019 and compete under pressure in those tournaments where he was at 100%, still finishing the season as the year-end no. 1 player. Deu to the coronavirus, Nadal experienced a short campaign last season, hoping to play injury-free in the season ahead of us.

"I have had many setbacks with injuries over the years. Still, I have managed to find a solution for them every time. Besides the medical solution, I had to seek the one on the court too. When you accumulate problems, it is not the momentary issue but also what remains inside your head; it disappoints you to see what to do when you get injured. Still, you have to do everything to return and continue where you left. When an injury occurs, all I can do is accept it and remain on the daily patient work towards recovery as quickly as possible. Also, the most important thing is to recover fully," Rafael Nadal said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3bK2qiQ