Can Nadal hold out at Wimbledon? Tennis experts talk about his injury and trust that he will jump on the court

Marco Casal also points out that the problem of the Balearic tennis player «It doesn’t heal overnight. He will not be 100%, but if he has options, he will try for sure.” He comments that this is “an injury that all tennis players had at some point. Sometimes it seems that you’re fine, but you do a more demanding stretch and break again. She is painful »

He explains that it is a physical problem “typical due to repetition of the serve. You do the rest of the blows ».

Take Salva

The former is personal friend of Rafael Nadal, becoming both number one and two in Spain and world champions in juniors. Tomeu Salva stopped playing at the age of 21 due to pressure, as he himself has commented. He is now part of the Rafa Nadal Academy. “I don’t know how dangerous the injury is, but everything will be done to make you play. Let’s hope it is like that. Tomorrow we will see if she will jump on the track or not ».

Enrique Antelo

Enrique Antelo, a doctor, points out that it is “an abdominal muscle tear that has not prevented this almost superhuman Spanish athlete from playing for more than three hours, of whom we should be proud. It seems that it is the fourth injury of this type that he suffers ». Antelo explains that it is an infrequent ailment and that it occurs in tennis, paddle tennis and volleyball: «The muscles that suffer the most They are the anterior rectus and obliques, plus the external oblique. This is the most requested in the movements of the serve and the smash».

He agrees with Dorochenko when pointing out that it occurs “in the area contralateral to the hitting arm”, so since Nadal is left-handed it would be on the right side. «To minimize the pain, he had to change the serve mechanism», says the doctor: «The main symptom is pain, depending on the degree of the injury. The main cause is overuse or intense or repeated efforts that exceed muscle elasticity.

Enrique Antelo comments that «a proper treatment it shortens the incorporation to the sport activity. In this case it can be rest of the area and physiotherapy. It does not always force us to stop and that is why many do not give it the relevance it has, since can become chronic». For the doctor, “most elite athletes are anatomical beasts and the healing of their injuries is often miraculous. In addition, with Rafa’s mentality to overcome the pain and the necessary medical help, the recovery will be fast.

Lastly, note how curiosity what at the 2021 Australian Open Novak Djokovic He suffered a physical problem similar to the one suffered by the tennis player from Manacor in the round of 32, in the third set when, precisely, he faced Fritz: «He won in five sets and then he was champion, will it be a premonition for Nadal?».