“I thought I had to quit tennis because I had lost my vitality and was a sad person most days” – Nadal on foot injury

The Spaniard has said the new treatment is the only way he can continue playing

Rafael Nadal during the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin Image Credit: AI/Reuters/Panoramic

December 24, 2022

Rafael Nadal has revealed that he has continued to take injections for his foot injury several times after Wimbledon and needs to resort to the same whenever the nerves in his foot start acting up again.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion took injections to numb his foot en route to winning the French Open for the record 14th time in June but later has been undergoing a new treatment, which he says is the only way he can continue playing.

In a new interview published by Spanish daily Marca, Nadal said that the injury caused him so much trouble that he had lost his vitality and had become a ‘sad person’ on most days.

“The truth is that I have done it many times after Wimbledon because the injury is incurable and when the nerve starts to hurt you have to do it again,” Nadal said. “I have to thank Mario, my regular anaesthetist in Barcelona, and Dr. Ángel Ruiz-Cotorro, who were the ones who put me in contact with David Abejón, specialist in the Pain Unit, to start a treatment that has drastically changed not my career, which in the end is secondary, but my personal life. Now I’m much happier, beyond winning or losing on the track, because I was lame. I played tennis with a lot of anti-inflammatories but I was lame all day. I thought I had to quit tennis because I had lost my vitality and was a sad person most days.”

“Someone new always stimulates all the components of the team” – Nadal on coaching change

The Spaniard, aged 36, will kick off his 2023 season by representing Spain in the inaugural edition of the United Cup, also spoke about the addition of Gustavo Marcaccio to his team, saying that is always good to have new inputs in the team.

“He (Gustavo) has been in the (Rafa Nadal) Academy for a year but I have known him for a long time because he worked with Juan Monaco, one of my best friends on the circuit, and I always had very good references from him. He is a serious and hardworking person and once Fracis decided to leave, I needed to incorporate someone, among other things because both Carlos (Moya) and Marc (Lopez) are parents too and cannot accompany me everywhere. In addition, someone new always stimulates all the components of the team,” the Spaniard added.

Nadal added that he will travel to Australia most likely on the day after Christmas and that he will not play any other event before the Australian Open.

“It is likely that I will travel on December 26 because on the 31st I debut in the United Cup. Sharing a team with my teammates makes me excited and for sure it will be a fun experience. At least I will play two matches before the Australian Open which will come in handy and hopefully we can advance further but it is clear that the draw is complicated. You have to be realistic but I’m going to try to win or at least get to the level I need to be competitive in Melbourne. “