Rafael Nadal has constantly suffered from injuries throughout his career. The Spaniard has made peace with the fact that his body pain will never go away, as he aims for a comeback in 2024. Nadal’s injury concerns were clear early on in his career. The Spaniard’s struggle with physical injuries, particularly the Muller-Weiss Syndrome since his teens, led to him missing one French Open back in 2004. In 2003, he injured his elbow, which delayed his Roland Garros debut.
According to Tennis365, Ana Ivanovic has revealed that Rafael Nadal had deep concerns about his fitness. The Spaniard was constantly worried about his physical state since early on in his career. Nadal has a style of play which demands lot of physicality, since the Spaniard plays every point with equal intensity. The physical toll on Nadal’s body was evident since he was just 17-18 years old. The former WTA World No.1 and 2008 French Open women’s singles champion recently admitted that Rafael Nadal talked to her about his insecurities at that tournament and questioned how long he will last on the tour due his injuries.
“I remember Rafa telling me in 2008, ‘I don’t know how long I will last’, and here is Novak, he is fighting. The fact that Novak is so strong and healthy is really fascinating to me, kudos to him. What’s really fascinating to me is how he manages to keep his body in good shape and healthy. It’s a hard sport, it has a big impact on the body, we can see it from Roger [Federer] and Rafa.”
Ana Ivanovic drew comparisons between Nadal and Djokovic’s physical fitness. The Serbian thinks that Djokovic has put in a lot of effort to remain healthy. Djokovic, who is very careful about his diet and fitness, is still going strong at the age of 36.
With his physically demanding style of play, Rafael Nadal has fought through a lot of wear and tear throughout his career. On the other hand, Djokovic’s style of play seems to be more organic, which has helped him have a longer career.
Rafael Nadal set for 2024 comeback
Rafael Nadal has announced his comeback on tour for the 2024 season. The Spaniard has missed most of the 2023 season due to an injury. Nadal is used to making a strong comeback from injuries. The Spaniard came back from a major injury in the 2022 season and won two Grand Slam titles for instance.
Recently, Nick Kyrgios admitted that Rafael Nadal will still be one of the favorites to win major tournaments. The Aussie felt Nadal will still dominate at the French Open, a title he has won 14 times in his career. Now, with Novak Djokovic dominating the young generation, it will be interesting to see if Nadal can be back to his best after returning from a long-term injury.
