PALMA: Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis legend, said on Friday that he intends to play at Wimbledon, but that his final decision will be based on how his troublesome left foot feels after training in London next week.
“I intend to play at Wimbledon,” Nadal stated during a press conference in Mallorca.
“The treatment and the last week of training give me hope.” I’ll fly to London on Monday, play an exhibition at Hurlingham, and then train for a week to see if it’s possible.” Nadal admitted that injections caused his left foot to feel “asleep” during the French Open final on June 5, but he still beat Casper Ruud to win his record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title.
Nadal, who announced his pregnancy for the first time last week, travelled to Barcelona last week to begin “pulsed radiofrequency stimulation,” a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain.
According to Nadal’s spokesperson, the treatment would make the nerves in his foot “temporarily numb.”
The 36-year-old then had his first grass session on Monday at the Mallorca Country Club in Santa Ponca, gradually increasing the intensity of his training this week.
“I’ve noticed a difference, some strange feelings to be honest,” Nadal said.
“Things happen in your foot with nerve treatment; sometimes one part of your foot goes numb, sometimes another.”
“It appears to be normal, and the nerves reorganise themselves after a few weeks.”
“I’m content. I’ve felt some pain, but it’s different from what I was experiencing before, which I consider to be progress.” In his career, Nadal has won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and 2010.
He missed last year’s tournament due to pain in the same left foot, and the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic, so Nadal is hoping to return to the All England Club for the first time in three years.
