“He is not as fast as before,” Mats Wilander doubts Rafael Nadal’s chances to bounce back
Mats WIlander is doubtful about Rafael Nadal's comeback with an aging body and injury concerns.
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Rafael Nadal
The Swedish seven-time Grand Slam Champion Mats Wilander gives his views on the comeback of Rafael Nadal and how he sees the possibilities of the Spanish superstar with an aging body. According to him, even though the creativity and problem-solving skills of the Mallorcan are unmatched, the physical level will be a question mark at this point of his career.
As the Swedish legend said, “The game is moving in a direction that is becoming faster and faster all the time. And I think you see with Rafa Nadal that he’s been changing his game as much as he can, but you still have to be able to get to the ball in time to make all these changes, to hit the slice backhand, to come to the net a little bit more.“
Wilander continued, “He’s going to obviously become slower and slower because of age, but also if you can’t practice all the time, you do lose some speed. I think the last thing that would ever go away from Rafael Nadal’s game is his actual game. I think hitting the ball, he’s getting better, he’s getting more creative. But in terms of the physical part of moving, I think, yes, he’s going to get slower because he’s not able to train as much all the time and he’s getting older.
“So there comes a point when there’s a limit to how much you can do with a tennis ball without being able to move around at close to 100%. And I think that’s going to be his biggest enemy.” (Source : Eurosport)
Rafael Nadal and his injury struggles
The Spanish World No.9 Rafael Nadal has had an injury-hit career. But he has always come back stronger to win more majors and break more records. Despite being one of the unluckiest players in the history of the game in terms of injuries, Nadal is still the most successful Grand Slam player ever. With 22 Grand Slams won, he still stands on the top with Novak Djokovic.
Though his body was not predicted to endure long with his physical game, Nadal has proved all the haters wrong. He will go out of the top 10 in the ATP rankings for the first time since he reached there in 2005. Those 18 years will be one of those records which is difficult to be broken in tennis. After turning 30, the Spaniard grabbed 8 Grand Slams – definitely a direct answer to the questions raised on his endurance.
The Spaniard’s physical game was always considered a reason for his injury-prone career. But the truth is that Nadal has an inborn condition on his left foot called Mueller-Weiss Syndrome. In his early years, the doctors even asked him to stop playing the game. But with a special shoe designed that has an extra cushion on his left foot, Nadal continued playing. But the strain on his foot caused major issues in his knee and other body parts later.
In 2022, the Spaniard underwent a radio-frequency treatment. It was expected to stop the pain in the foot by numbing the nerves. The fans were expecting an-injury free Nadal after the foot treatment. But the abdomen injury in the second half of 2022 and the hip injury at the start of 2023 have given them further blows.
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