PARIS: Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the French Open with a left wrist injury on Friday, but insisted the heartbreaking setback did not mean the end of his career.
“It’s not broken, but if I continue to play it will be 100 percent broken in a few days,” said an emotional Nadal, the fourth seed. “To win the tournament I need five more matches, and the doctor says that’s 100% impossible. This is a very bad position, but that’s life. It’s obvious that if it’s not Roland Garros I would not take risks on playing the first two days, but it is the most important event of the year for me so we tried our best.”
Nadal, a 14-time Grand Slam winner, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, affecting his knees and wrist. A right wrist injury forced him to skip the 2014 US Open.
Despite his latest setback, the charismatic Spaniard said he will keep playing although his participation at Wimbledon next month is now in serious doubt.
“Nine times in my career I have been able to be healthy here in Paris and win this tournament,” he said. “This is a tough moment and the toughest press conference I have ever had to give but it’s not the end.” Nadal had coasted through the first two rounds in Paris dropping just nine games but revealed he had needed pain-killing injections in his wrist to take part. “We took risks yesterday. That’s why we played with an anesthetic injection, so without feeling at all on the wrist,” added Nadal, wearing a bandage on the wrist and appearing close to tears.
{{/usCountry}}“Nine times in my career I have been able to be healthy here in Paris and win this tournament,” he said. “This is a tough moment and the toughest press conference I have ever had to give but it’s not the end.” Nadal had coasted through the first two rounds in Paris dropping just nine games but revealed he had needed pain-killing injections in his wrist to take part. “We took risks yesterday. That’s why we played with an anesthetic injection, so without feeling at all on the wrist,” added Nadal, wearing a bandage on the wrist and appearing close to tears.
{{/usCountry}}Nadal explained that the left wrist had been a problem for a number of days. He underwent an MRI on Friday and “the image showed it was getting worse”. “Yesterday night I started to feel more and more pain, and today in the morning I felt that I could not move the wrist.”
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