Prior to his practice session on Thursday, it was claimed that Nadal had sustained a 7-millimetre rupture in one of his abdominal muscles.
Rafael Nadal, the two-time Wimbledon winner, has withdrawn from the 2022 event due to an abdominal ailment suffered before his semi-final match against Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court on Friday. Nadal overcame stomach pain to defeat Taylor Fritz in a five-set thriller on Thursday, advancing to his ninth Wimbledon semi-final. With his withdrawal, Nadal’s chances of completing the Calendar Grand Slam are over.
Nadal had a modest 45-minute practise session on Thursday in an attempt to shake off his injury worries and be ready for the major semi-final showdown against Kyrgios, who made his first Grand Slam semi-final.
Prior to his practice session, the Spanish tabloid Marca stated that Nadal had sustained a 7-millimetre rupture in one of his abdominal muscles.
“I have to pull out of the tournament,” Nadal said. “As everybody saw yesterday I have been suffering with pain in the abdominal [area]. That’s confirmed. I have a tear in the muscle. I feel very sad to say that.”
“I make my choice because I think I can’t win two matches under these conditions,” he continued. I can’t serve, not only because I can’t execute it at the appropriate pace, but also because I can’t do the regular serving action.
“I have to admit that in order to see myself winning two matches and to have some respect for myself, I don’t want to go out there and not be competitive enough to play at the level I need to play to reach my goal, and with a high risk of making things worse.” I saw my professional [future] becoming increasingly problematic a few weeks ago. Certainly, things have improved in that regard. But, as I’ve always maintained, happiness is more important than any title.
In the quarter-final encounter against Fritz, Nadal wore a tape over part of his abdomen and had a medical time-out before the start of the second set, which included taking painkillers.
Nadal was attempting to win his third Wimbledon championship and first since 2010. The victory would have increased his Grand Slam count to 23 and brought him one step closer to the coveted Calendar Slam.
With his retirement, Kyrgios had reached his first Grand Slam final after easily defeating Cristian Garin in the quarterfinals. He now awaits the winner of the second semi-final match between reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Cam Norrie.
