John McEnroe fears Rafael Nadal may retire before Wimbledon due to injury | Tennis | Sport
Nadal’s 2023 season was derailed when he injured his left psoas during his second-round loss at the Australian Open. The 22-time Major winner had hip surgery in June before making a winning return at last week’s Brisbane International. It was a promising start for the 37-year-old, who won his first two matches for the loss of just nine games.
But he blew match points against Jordan Thompson in the quarter-final and received a medical time out for his hip before crashing out, raising concerns that he reaggravated the left psoas injury. Nadal later withdrew from the Australian Open, though he shared the “good news” that the injury was a micro muscle tear in a different place.
While the Spaniard seems optimistic, McEnroe has shared fears that the former world No. 1 will retire before Wimbledon if his body doesn’t hold up over the clay season. “I’m not even remotely comparing myself to Rafa, but in my mind the few times I played Australia was to sort of get ready for the rest of the year,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion told ESPN.
“The timing was tough to seemingly to be able to put all the chips on the table early on. Players have now accepted that the Australian Open has gotten closer in importance with Wimbledon and the US. When I was playing, the top guys didn’t even play. It’s come a long way.”
While Nadal also appeared to be using the Australian summer to get some matches in before bidding to be competitive on the clay, McEnroe wasn’t sure his body would cooperate. He continued: “I think Rafa was hoping, ‘Hopefully I’ll be ready for the French, see if my body holds up there.’
“If it doesn’t, I think you’ll see him not play anymore. We’re all obviously hopeful he can because Rafa has been amazing for the game. We’d like to see him as long as we can.” Nadal is yet to announce a return date after pulling out of the Australian Open, though he is slated to play an exhibition match on March 3.
The 37-year-old will take on compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in The Netflix Slam, being staged in Las Vegas. He could then opt to stay in America for the Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Miami, being held in the following weeks. But there’s no doubt that Nadal will want to be back in time for the clay swing, which starts in Monte Carlo on April 7.
Nadal and his team have already stated that the priority was to be ready for the clay and expected him to take three months to get back near his best. And the 92-time title winner doubled down on his comments when he withdrew from the first Grand Slam of the year.
“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in 3 months,” he wrote on social media. “Within the sad news for me for not being able to play in front of the amazing Melbourne crowds, this is not very bad news and we all remain positive with the evolution for the season. I really wanted to play here in Australia and I have had the chance to play a few matches that made me very happy and positive.”