The end of this year has been a tough one for Rafael Nadal.  The star athlete has had to withdraw from the Thailand Open due to an abdominal injury.  He will need at least two weeks of rest, physiotherapy and medication in order to properly heal.
Nadal had planned on arriving early and taking a vacation on the Thai island of Krabi but has had to scrap his plans.  He was injured during his semifinal match against eventual U.S. Open winner, Juan Martin del Potro.
He also sat out from the Davis Cup in his native Spain over the weekend and earlier …read more

Rafael Nadal’s first match in 10 weeks ended prematurely due to a knee injury – but it wasn’t Nadal who was in pain.  While many worried that the Spaniard’s knees might give him trouble it was his compatriot, David Ferrer, who limped off the court.

Not only was it sad to see a player bow out in pain, it was a letdown for the crowd who were waiting to see how Nadal’s return would end.  The spectators all groaned when the ump announced the end of the match with Nadal leading 4-3 in the set.
“It’s always a pleasure to come back,” …read more

As expected, Rafael Nadal has arrived in Montreal for the Rogers Cup, an event that he won last year.  The Montreal Gazette reports that Rafa looked quite rusty during his practice but I’m not too worried at all.  Yes, I realize he’s still recovering from his knee injury but I think that he’s been really smart about it and even skipped Wimbledon to give himself time to heal.

I hate when people get all jittery during a player’s first day back at a major event following an injury – it puts too much pressure on them.  Rafa could have been jet-lagged …read more

It looks like Rafael Nadal will return to competing very soon.  His publicist says that the former No. 1 will begin practicing next week and is expecting to play in the hard-court tournament at Montreal which starts on August 10, 2009.
I’m happy that he’s been trying to take it slow and is giving his body time to heal.  Nothing is worse than rushing a comeback and then getting reinjured and having to be sidelined for even longer.
It was really disappointing when he had to pull out of Wimbledon last month (a decision that caused his ranking to slide to the …read more