Rafael Nadal’s Sister Maribel Shares Hilarious Reaction After His Injury Admission Ahead of 2026 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal lifted his last title at the 2022 Roland Garros by defeating Norway's Casper Ruud.

Rafael Nadal’s Sister Maribel Shares Hilarious Reaction After His Injury Admission Ahead of 2026 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal, Maribel Nadal (Image via Vanity Fair, Instagram/Rafael Nadal)

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Rafael Nadal hung up his racket at the 2024 Davis Cup after Spain lost their quarterfinal match against the eventual runner-up Netherlands. Last year, Nadal featured in just one Grand Slam event.

After skipping the Australian Open due to an injury, the King of Clay participated in the French Open for the last time. But unfortunately, in the first round, Nadal was pitted against none other than three-time Grand Slam finalist Alexander Zverev, who later went on to reach the final and lose a five-set thriller against Carlos Alcaraz.

The 2025 season has ended. The first major event of the 2026 season is the Australian Open, where Nadal clinched the title twice, in 2009 and 2022. The 39-year-old recently underwent surgery on his hand, and after the successful operation, he shared a picture of himself on social media and joked that the injury forced him to pull out of the next edition of the Australian Open.

Looks like I won’t be able to play @australianopen in January I’ve had to have a hand surgery for a problem that’s been dragging on for years, but I’m hoping to be okay soon.

Rafael Nadal wrote on Instagram

Check out his post here:

Nadal’s sister, Maribel Nadal, reacted to Nadal’s hilarious admission. In the comment section, she dropped four emojis.

Maribel Nadal's comment on Instagram
Maribel Nadal’s comment on Instagram

The last final that Nadal played this year was the Swedish Open, where he failed to go past Nuno Borges. Nadal’s career’s last match was against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup.

Frances Tiafoe shared what happened on the tour after Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s retirements

Roger Federer was the first member of the Big 3 to call time on his career. Rafael Nadal followed him last year, and the third member of the Big 3, Novak Djokovic, dreams of hanging up his racket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (Image via X/Danny)

Although Djokovic has yet to hang up his racket, he is just a shadow of his former self and is not winning much on the tour. In short, the Big 3’s dominance is over. This is why Frances Tiafoe thinks that after the Big 3, the men’s tour has become open, even though players are failing to challenge the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

The Tour is kind of open. It feels to me like before Rafa and Novak and Federer and those guys kind of happened. It really is open. From three to 100, with the guy winning in Shanghai. It’s an exciting time in that sense, and when you think about it, at the end of a Slam, you have to beat two guys rather than three guys, and a lot of times the four guys in the semis were already a lock. I just think there is a big opening in tennis, and that’s what I am really excited about.

Frances Tiafoe said on the Served podcast

Tiafoe also believes Alcaraz and Sinner are not beatable. He has met the former thrice, winning one match, while against Sinner, he trails 1-4.

I still don’t think these guys are unbeatable. I struggle to believe that. I have to think that way. I have played Carlos twice, and I lost to him in five. He has won two slams, and I feel like I missed out on that. I lost to him at Wimbledon, and I felt that was one I let go. At the [US] Open, I was hanging on for dear life.

Frances Tiafoe added

Sinner and Alcaraz won six and eight titles, respectively, this year. The Italian played the finals of all four Majors this year, winning at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, while Alcaraz clinched the win at the French Open and the US Open.

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