MADRID (AP) – Rafael Nadal tested positive for COVID-19 after playing an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, the Spanish tennis player confirmed Monday.
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Through Twitter Nadal shared that he tested positive in a PCR test that was performed upon arrival in Spain.
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Nadal indicated that he is going through “unpleasant moments”, but that he hopes to improve “little by little”. He is isolated at home and everyone who came in contact with him was informed of his positive.
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Among those possible contacts is the former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I, who has lived in the United Arab Emirates since allegations of financial scandals emerged and compromised the royal family last year.
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According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Nadal and Juan Carlos, who is 83 years old, ate together on Saturday. The newspaper also published images of the two posing without masks.
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Nadal indicated that he has undergone tests every other day while he has been away and all the results have been negative, the last was on Saturday.
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The tennis player indicated that as a result of the positive, he will have to be flexible with his game schedule. He said that he will analyze his options in the future depending on his condition.
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On Friday, Nadal played his first meeting in more than four months, losing in straight sets to Andy Murray in an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. The persistent foot injury of the 20-time Grand Slam winner forced him to miss the final months of the season.
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He had not competed since August, when he was eliminated in Washington by Lloyd Harris of South Africa. He missed Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.
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