Rafael Nadal's Retirement: Tennis Icon Battled With These Injuries Before Raising The White Flag

Tennis icon Rafael Nadal raised the white flag on Tuesday, signaling his retirement after Spain lost to Netherland in the quarterfinals of Davis Cup Final 8.

The 38-year-old Spaniard's indomitable spirit, and extra-ordinary know-how of the racket sport led him to claim the spoils of 22 grand slams, 14 of which were at his favourite clay court. He will also be recalled as the tennis star, who reached the numero uno spot in ATP rankings and spent the longest consecutive duration among the top ten in history.

Nadal faced a string of injuries challenging his ability to perform 

However, of his over a two-decade long career came with its own sets of high and lows. Nadal has faced quite a few health setbacks ranging from abdominal pain to a hip flexor injury.

In 2023, the 'King Of Clay' faced the brunt of a hip flexor injury, which made him loss to Makie McDonald in the second round of Australian Open. He spent the entire year off-court and had a hip surgery in June.

Hip flexor muscles help in raise your knee towards your body, and an overuse of these muscles causes sudden strain, spasms and swelling in your hip region. The range of its symptoms also extends to blood clots, pinched nerves, and hip impingement, in which the ball of your hip pinches the socket. 

The 22-time grand slam winner has also overcome confidence-shackling pain in his left foot consecutively during the French Open 2021 and the following year. In 2022, he overcame the left foot pain with nerve-numbing injections and was declared the winner of Frech Open for the 14th time after beating Casper Ruud.

Foot pain is quite common and there are number of contributors to this condition from athletic injuries, and chronic concerns like arthritis. Moreover, foot pains that are chronic in nature make it nearly impossible to conduct you daily activities.

A member of the big three in the Tennis jagat (world), has reportedly complained of abdominal issues that made him pull out of Wimbledon in 2022 before the semifinals. He complained of a torn abdominal muscle. In-the-course of French Open 2018, he had flagged a similar abdominal injury.

The abdominal muscles stretch over the abdomen from the chest to the hips, covering the center and sides also. Doctors also refer to a pulled muscle as a strain or tear. This type of injury can happen through overuse, by stretching a muscle too much, or through excessive force, according to a Medical News today report. 
 

Earlier in his career, Nadal has overcome several other athletic stumbles, and health concerns such as stomach virus, wrist pain and knee tendinitis, however, the tennis star, who won his first ATP match back in 2002, won over it all.