The unexpected loss of Rafael Nadal for the coming weeks, due to a crack in the third costal arch, hits hard a circuit in which the arrival of the gravel tour appears, in which the man from Manacor is always the great favorite. Rafa’s doctor, Ángel Ruiz Cotorro , estimates that the sick time is four to six weeks, so Nadal aims to miss several of the championships in which he was counted on as a great candidate.
What was already certain before the injury and even Nadal’s presence at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 was known is that the man from Manacor will not be present at the next tournament in this category, in Miami . Rafa dropped out before debuting in his predecessor, thinking of optimally preparing a gravel tour that, paradoxically, could be lost due to the injury that arose in the United States .
If we move forward in the calendar, the first tournament of the clay tour in which Nadal had his participation closed is the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 . The Balearic tennis player will not be able to play in a tournament in which he has won up to 11 times, but which he has not lifted since 2018. Nor will he be able to do so in 2022, since his start, in just over two weeks, absolutely discourages his participation.
Nadal will not be in Monte Carlo and, with almost total probability, neither in Barcelona , in his club, its central court and a Conde de Godó Trophy that he won in 2021 and on eleven more occasions. The Real Club de Tenis Barcelona is rushing for a miracle from Rafa , but his start date, before the month since this Tuesday in which the tennis player’s injury was announced, makes it practically impossible to have him in the final draw .
After Godó , Nadal ‘s initial planning was separated with a rest week that will come in handy for the tennis player to recover from the injury to the third rib. Then comes the Mutua Madrid Open , from May 1 to 8, where Rafa could reappear if he recovers from his injury on the right track. Today the deadlines are not clear and, therefore, neither is his presence at the Caja Mágica, where he reached the quarterfinals in 2021 and what is one of his most loyal fans awaits him.
Already in Rome , the week after Madrid , Nadal is expected to be back and in full power, before the great goal of the season for the Spanish tennis player, which is none other than to recover the title at Roland Garros . Scheduled to start on May 22, the final on June 5 cannot be imagined without Nadal , for the second consecutive year, as one of its contenders, and despite the sadness of being able to miss much of the tour on land, all in Rafa and his team’s planning will revolve around this day.
