Rafael Nadal Is On Track To Play Wimbledon Despite Chronic Foot Problem, Uncle Says

Rafael Nadal is on track to play at Wimbledon for the first time since 2019, his uncle Toni Nadal said Saturday at the ATP event in Stuttgart.

“Yes, Rafael plays at Wimbledon,” he told reporters.

Wimbledon begins June 27.

After winning his 14th French Open and 22nd Grand Slam title June 5, Rafael Nadal said he planned to have radiofrequency ablation – which uses heat on the nerve to quell long-term pain – but would have to consider surgery if that treatment did not work. The tennis legend suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome – a rare degenerative condition that affects bones in the feet. He said he played through the French Open because he received multiple anaesthetic injections during the tournament.

“I have been playing with injections on the nerves to numb the foot and that’s why I was able to play during these two weeks,” he said.

He added that he “doesn’t want to keep playing” if he continues to need injections.

Toni Nadal indicated the ablation treatments are going well and his nephew is planning to train on the sidelines of the Mallorca Open starting Monday.

“When we talked yesterday, he said it’s going much better,” Toni said. “He wants to train. If he has a small chance, he will play Wimbledon.”

Nadal has won the year’s first two Grand Slam events for the first time in his career and is in position to win the calendar Grand Slam, something Novak Djokovic came one match short of in 2021. Nadal stands two majors ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer, who are tied at 20.

“I am going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon,” Nadal said after the French. “Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss.”

Wimbledon will be missing a number of top names, including Alexander Zverev, who had surgery after tearing ligaments in his right ankle during his semifinal with Nadal; Russian stars Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, who are banned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and Federer, who hopes to still play the tournament at least one more time in 2023.

“It’s your 14th time here, 22nd all-around in Grand Slams and we all know what a champion you are,” Ruud said. “And today I got to feel how it is to play against you in a final and it’s not easy.

“I’m not the first victim, I know there have been many before.”

He added: “You are a true inspiration for me, for everyone who follows tennis around the world, so we all hope that you will continue for some more time.”

In the next week, Nadal