ARTICLES:
- Rafael Nadal withdraws from Roland-Garros ~ by Michael Beattie | Roland Garros
“We took the risks yesterday. To have won the tournament I would have had to play five more matches and the doctor told me that was 100 per cent impossible.
Nadal, wearing a wrist brace, said the injury first flared up during his quarter-final match in Madrid against Joao Sousa earlier this month, after which he underwent treatment in Barcelona before heading to Rome, where he lost in the quarter-finals to Novak Djokovic.
Having played on anti-inflammatories in Italy, Nadal said the pain began to return prior to his departure for Paris. “When I arrived here, every day is worse,” Nadal said. “I cannot play with my forehand. That’s the real thing.”
By withdrawing from Roland-Garros, Nadal hopes to avoid surgery to his wrist.
- Rafael Nadal withdraws from French Open: ‘Now is a tough moment, but is not the end’ ~ by Marianne Bevis| The Sport Review
For now, the French Open and the popular Spaniard’s millions of admirers will hope he has another stab at the record next year. He certainly believes he will.
“Now is a tough moment, but is not the end. I feel myself with the right motivation and the right energy to be back in Roland Garros the next couple of years, and I really hope to keep having my chances in the future.”
- Toni Nadal believes Rafa’s injury has come at “worst moment” ~ by Reem Abulleil | Sport 360
Nadal’s uncle and coach Toni lamented the unfortunate timing of the injury but is hoping his charge will be ready to compete again soon.
“It’s part of the sport. But yes, this setback has come at the worst moment,” said Toni.
“It’s a pity because Rafael was starting to get back to a good level, feeling competitive and this is the most important tournament of the year for us. Now, the most important thing is for him to recuperate completely and when he’s back, we can get to where we are right now.”
PHOTOS:
VIDEOS:
Rafa’s success at Roland-Garros is often compared to that of Bjorn Borg’s. The nine-time champion reflects on his inspiration, motivation, and love of the red clay.
- Press Conference: Rafa Announces Withdrawal From Roland-Garros
- Roland-Garros 2016 – Fast&Zap with Nadal
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Thanx margo
You’re welcome, Chantelle.
Really happy to help a Nadal fan when I can as I have so much more to learn from his more informed fans.
RAFA ROCKS
After reading al these comments “Rafa is the only one who knows how it feels to be a tennis player and decides to play or exit from the tournament. Have a lovely Birthday and start again. Mine is a day after yours so I vaguely know how ……………Vamos Rafa 🙂
Yes Ruby, well stated. You are a breath of fresh air. It seemed as if I were the only one giving credit to Rafa on his choices.
You will most likely be thinking of Rafa on your birthday but I hope that does not darken your mood. I would focus on his great achievements. Have a happy!
RAFA ROCKS
Even the heaven’s above Roland Garros are shedding tears today over Rafa’s departure.
Absolutely breathtaking, Maria. Absolutely.
But, as always, we’ll see…….
Thanks YB – im just asking in case the injury is more long term. Cross fingers its not and then all rafa will be lacking is some match practice which he can catch up on
Does anyone know what the rankings position is with an injury rather than losing a match? Rafa has been unable to defend last yrs rg quarter final points and it maybe the case too with queens and wimbledon. Either way rafa will have dip in rank surely?
Unless Stan defends his title or Kei wins the title, Rafa is going to be #4 after the French Open, I believe. He doesn’t have much to defend at Wimbledon either. So I don’t think his ranking will drop in the next couple of months.
Hiya Chantelle, Rafa has only 360pts to defend from the 2015 QF FO. As for Queens no points. Wimbledon may also be zero.
Regarding injury, Rafa would keep his ranking if he requested and was qualified for Protected Ranking status BUT that is a six-month injury (or more) affair.
I hope this helps.
Does anybody know when Nadal is going to take legal action against the French Minister ,I guess there’s no time like the present. Like they say every cloud has a silver lining, I did wonder when he would fit it in with his busy schedule. George has regeneration taken place Hmmmmmmm
Maria, he has already filed his suit against her. I don’t know if a court date has been set. He will win! Her MANY accusations were unconscionable.
RAFA ROCKS
I’m sure he will , but as Rafa said This is not the end , and this brave ,strong king will be back, and by the looks of it he still has a few zebras to catch
@Maria: True. I plan to move to Spain and play recreational tennis with Rafa when he retires. I am sure that he will welcome me with open arms.
That’s for sure! Hate to think it but the greatest era of all is gradually coming to an end , probably in the next few years Rafa, Roger , Serena and Maria will have retired and that will be the sadest day of all. Dosen’t bear thinking about , Can’t imagine any of these tournaments without Rafa ,only one solution ,we will all have to move to Spain
@Maria: Spot on. Imagine if Djokovic pulled out from the tournament. People would sing and dance of joy. It would be a celebration.
Thanks you ITV4 for showing some footage of Rafa practising with Andy before he retired from the FO, and for giving him respect by starting the day with the sad news. Still can’t believe it , but happy to see how sad commentators seem to be at Rafa’s departure .I bet there wasn’t a dry eye in the press conference .
Indeed Maria.
I have it on good authority that Fan Love (remember her?) has declared 7 days of mourning and no food!!!
Tennis is not tennis without Rafa and all these comments about Rafa not beating Djokovic what a load of rubbish just look back to past results it’s only now since his injuries he is having this problem if he had been injury free we would have seen Rafa with more results againest Novak who still has a lot to win to surpass Rafas achievements !!!
In any case he has done it all and we should be grateful we have had such an amazing tennis player and person in this tennis era without him and Roger it would have been boring otherwise
But as Martina and all his fans say please get better soon take your time to do so and please return to tennis with uncle Toni and your team you don’t need anyone else to help you as only you can win tournaments and they are there to support you and have done an amazing job !!!
So good luck Rafa on your recovery
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……….
I’m very disappointed,I thought Rafa had every chance of winning FO again this year,its been made far worse because of the pathetic lack of TV time at Roland this year,I only saw about 15 secs in all.
Whilst lesser known players were all over the TV coverage for most of the day..
French TV seems to have it in for Rafa.
I am hoping Rafa will be play at Wimbledon this year,but it looks doubtful,I’m so tired of waiting to see the the worlds best play again.
I hope the injury heals quickly so we can see the champ in action this year.
Why Rafa puled out? He could play next few rounds with the right hand and than SF against Djoko with the left hand (under general anaesthesia). Rafa has elegant style of play that is not taxing on the body and he doesn’t use wrist very much so I am puzzled why he would be injured. I suppose that DR. WHO could explain this as he got PhD in mechanics. Dear DR.WHO thank you in advance for your explanation. I apologise if I don’t respond to your comments later as I don’t have regular access to PC.
Point of correction George! – DR. WHO has a PHD in Human Kinesis, Toxicology & Parasitology, 3-Dimensional Mathematical Stastitics (with advanced specialty in Probalities) and Psyco- Motor reactions to name just a few.
I’m generally regarded as a Doctor of Many Things.
But, as always, we’ll see…………..
Are Nadal’s words haunting him?
1) On Djokovic, Nadal it was who said and I quote: ”I never seen anyone play Tennis like this…I don’t think I can ever beat him”
Now, let’s juxtapose these sentiments against the implication of Rafa’s withdrawal (or is it ”retirement”) from the FO. The straight-face implication of his withdrawal is that his now ”competitive level” may likely drop as he will be out of action for a while. When he eventually does resume, he’d have to do a lot of catching up, especially against you-know-who…(let me whisper the name…)…it starts with a ‘N’ and ends with a ‘K’
Again, since he made that unfortunate statement, Djokovic has continued to beat Nadal (Indian wells and Rome) while an unknown Jiri Versely and Andy Murray have beaten Novak. Indeed, as a consequence of this latest injury, Rafa may end up (true to his words) as the only one who cannot beat Djokovic
2) Sometimes in early 2015 before the 2015 FO, Nadal it was who said and I quote: ”I don’t want to win 15 French Open Trophies”
Sinne he made that bare knuckle statement, Nadal has never won another FO title. And just when we thought the 2016 FO was his for the taking, a mysterious wrist injury juts out of the woodwork!
As a highly renowned Doctor, I have often advised people against making extreme statements. In Mathematics, extremeties are undefined because they are borderless and so can trigger irrational expressions or negative spin offs.
What a great image of Rafa’s 9 wins at the FO ,I am in no doubt there would have been another one added a week Sunday , now I will just have to wait til next year for that. Rafa really needs to give Wimbledon a miss it would be a mistake to come back that early, and he hasn’t had good results there for a few years. Why risk it , give your wrist a couple of months to heal especially with the Olympic’s coming in August , that means so much to you don’t do anything to jeopardise it. Dr who – where have you been when Rafa has won his last two matches , traveling the universe. You have really let me down , I thought you were off regenerating and would come back with a new name ( even the players managed to turn up in new outfits). You don’t have to have a degree in physics to know that Novak is the odds on favourite, but your predictions were wrong in Rome and hopefully will be again .
But Who knows Dr Who who Knows………………..
Hmmmmmmm…….,.
As a professional Deep Thinker, something tells me we may not have heard the last about Nadal’s sudden and mysterious ”wrist injury”?
Why now? Why at the FO? Why now, when the case wih Barbelot is on-going?
So many questions; but no answers…..again let’s remember that Nadal won the two previous matches with bagels and no sign of struggling….???
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm……………
But, as always, we’ll see……………….
Bachelot is being sued; a case she will lose.
Babalot is one of his sponsors.
Get well soon. Always with you. Vamos Rafa!!!
Rafa my son, my heart is aching for you. The sad news has left me in shock, devastated n completely depressed. I am your self-adopted Aussie Abuela, 80 yrs of age, live in Australia, n I have been regularly keeping in touch with you on this page. I feel for you like I do for my own grandchildren. I have been your fan since you were a teenager, n I have mentioned this many a time. Without you, there is no excitement in Tennis for me, n I keep hoping you will still be playing when I am gone to meet my Maker! You n Roger F. bring a certain carrissma, excitement n glamour to the game. No breaking racquets, swearing, throwing tantrums or showing off to the public with stupid antics like Novak. The sad thing is that you are playing so well Rafa n the Tennis Pundits were singing your praises. In my opinion, n many others, you had No.10 RG in the Bag. Novak is not playing up to his usual standard n Andy has had to fight hard 5 Set matches to keep his head above water.
Is it the tendon or a hairline fracture? Why didn’t your medical team n Uncle Tony advise you not to play in Madrid n Rome? You had a bad experience with your appendix which, because of neglect, turned into peritonitis! Please take care n recover fully Rafa. I am praying for your injury to heal quickly n maybe you will be fit to play in Wimbledon. Miracles do happen Rafa … believe me. You are a great kid n you deserve a break from this bad luck of injuries. Maybe stay away from golf for the time being n take it easy on your lovely yacht.
Go for it Stan n win the Cup for the second time.
God bless you my dear, dear Rafa. Keep smiling. Long live the King of Clay. Vamos Rafa. Love your Aussie Abuela. 😇😊😀👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑👑
He should change coach…
Toni old time’s style is no longer work for Rafa’s body. He gets the injury so many times in recent years. We often see Rafa with bandage on his wrist or his knee.
Andre Agassi should be the right one for Rafa. He would help Rafa in this stage of career when Rafa can no longer rely on his speedy footwork or his physical strength at the age of 30.
Andre can help Rafa improve much on his return of serve cuz he is widely regarded as best returner of all time. Andre can also help Rafa beat Djokovic’s backhand.
Time for a change Rafa. Uncle Toni, 2 years is too much especially Rafa doesn’t have so much time left. You want him to win more slam and play for a good amount of time more? Please walk away for the best to Rafa!
I hope he skips Winbledon to make sure he is fully recovered. Some are already saying three months. If that’s what it takes, so be it.
GET WELL CHAMP
For once, I agree with you, Margo.
But, as always, we’ll see………………….Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm………..
Hhmmm
Oohhhh esteemed doctor, your presence here is the sine qua non for a most intellectual exchange (without snark, please) about the greatest clay court champion of all time, Rafael Nadal.
RAFA ROCKS
he should skip olympic too.
I became a big tennis fan when Sampras won 19, and Agassi, Becket. Etcand never n those long years never saw them have injuries.Why? they had coaches who taught them to play to their fullest and avoid injuries.. You must know all aspects, but also tips and tricks too. I became in love with Rafa at 19 and remember a very tennis wise person telling me this “If he continues to play only like that he will be plagued with injuries..” Sorry uncle Tony, but you know about back yard tennis,
Rafa has played very very well on his own! sad because I don’t think he will never be the same, he is playing well but with fear. I pray to God someone proves me wrong, and believe me Rafael. i love you deeply!! talk to Agassi and Sampras…Wishing u the best for your health. I am from the Dominican Republic where Rafa bought a beautiful village in the best luxury resort. So, what I say, like it or not. its out of love!!!