his 13 serious injuries in his 20-year career

Since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open on January 18, Spaniard Rafael Nadal has not appeared in competition again. Four months later, he was forced to retire for the second time in his career for Roland-Garros on Thursday 18 May. This physical monster of early 37 years (he will celebrate them on June 3), who is one of the greatest fighters on the circuit, is engaged in a tunnel with an uncertain outcome, assuring, in a press conference, that he wants “give a chance to [mon] body to enjoy a probable last year of his pro career next season.”

Since retiring from publishing 2003 Roland-Garros of what could have been his first participation in the Parisian tournament, the man with 22 the coronations thus missed or had to stop during the tournament at 5pm times out of 82 Major. Almost in the same period (73 major tournaments), Novak Djokovic has only six forfeitures or withdrawals.

2003 : elbow

Two years after his professional debut, Rafael Nadal accuses the first physical problems that force him to give up participating in his very first edition of Roland-Garros. It is therefore an injury to an elbow, caused in training.

2004 : left foot

18 years year-old Rafael Nadal beat Richard Gasquet at the Estoril tournament despite a scaphoid fracture in his left foot, but was then eliminated for Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. The beginning of a long series of foot injuries that will block him for his entire career.

August 2009 : knee tendonitis

Winner of Wimbledon in 2008 after a memorable final against Roger Federer, the Spaniard was unable to defend his title on the London lawn the following year due to persistent tendonitis in both knees.

September 2009 : abdominal muscles

Having just recovered from tendonitis in his knees, Nadal contests the USA Open, where he was eliminated in the semifinals. He admits to suffering from an abdominal tear.

2012 : left knee tendonitis

Package for the London Games While he is the reigning Olympic champion, Nadal also forgoes playing in the United States Open, gently with the left knee.

January 2014 : Backwards

Dwarfed by a back injury, he still reached the final of the Open from Australia, but lost to Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.

July 2014 : right wrist

Shot in the right wrist at the end of July, Rafael Nadal withdraws from Toronto then Cincinnati, before also giving up on the USA Open.

June 2016 : left wrist

Already titled new times at Roland-Garros, since then undefeated on clay 2009, the Spaniard withdrew before his third round due to a tendon injury in his left wrist.

February 2021 : Backwards

the year 2021 starts badly for the Majorcan, who postpones his expected return to the ATP Cup due to back pain, and lost in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

August 2021 : left foot

Afflicted again by his left foot, Rafael Nadal ends his season early 2021, and explains that he has been suffering from Müller-Weiss syndrome for years. This rare condition affects one of the bones in the left foot, causing chronic pain. It is operated on in September.

March 2022 : broken rib

Winner of his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal then skips several tournaments, including that of Monte-Carlo. He suffered a broken rib during the California tournament.

July 2022 : abdominal muscles

Victim of an abdominal tear, the Spaniard dominates, despite the pain, the American Taylor Fitz in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, but finally throws in the towel the next day, giving up playing his semifinal against Nick Kyrgios. “It makes no sense to play if I want to continue my career” he said.

January 2023 : hip

After his elimination at the Australian Open in the second round, Rafael Nadal explains that he suffers from pain in his hip, for an as yet unknown reason. “It hurts, as always. But now the cup is starting to fill up and there will come a time when it will overflow”, left the Spaniard at the press conference. The next day he announces that his absence will last from six to eight weeks for “a second-degree lesion of the iliopsoas muscle of the left leg”. Four months later, this still untreated injury, which has kept him off the circuit since the defeat in Melbourne, and forces him to ignore Roland-Garros, a tournament he won on 14 occasions.