Rafael Nadal made history at the Australian Open a year ago when he won a then-record 21st Grand Slam crown, but his dispiriting defeat on Wednesday raises fresh questions about how much longer the ailing Spaniard can keep going.
And the sight of his “funeral march” off Rod Laver Arena after a straight-sets loss to 65th-ranked Mackenzie McDonald – which saw Nadal’s wife Mery in tears – has experts believing the legend has reached a tipping point with his body.
Nadal hobbled out of the arena, his hip sore and his title defence over after just two matches. So what now for one of the best men’s tennis players of all time?
Watch Tennis Live with beIN SPORTS on Kayo. Live Coverage of ATP + WTA Tour Tournaments including Every Finals Match. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
In the short term, 36-year-old Nadal needs to diagnose and fix his hip. In the aftermath of his physically and emotionally painful defeat, Nadal said he had had the problem for “a couple of days” but did not know what the issue was.
“I don’t know what’s going on, if it’s muscle, if it’s joint,” the deflated Spaniard told reporters.
“I have history in the hip that I had issues. I had to do treatments in the past, address a little. Was not this amount of problem.
“Now I feel I cannot move.”
“Destroyed mentally at this time” | 03:35
The issue, as The Tennis Podcast hosts Catherine Whitaker and Matt Roberts explained, is the mounting number of injuries Nadal is having to overcome – and the fact they’re more complex.
“(We saw) the absolutely haunting sight of Nadal’s funeral march to the locker room,” she said.
“A slow, slow trudge, followed by the camera all the way. It was incredibly poignant … was that a farewell to the crowd, that moment he took to wave goodbye?”
Roberts responded: “We can’t get into all of that meaningfully because the theme of this injury is Nadal doesn’t know how serious it is.
“It was bad enough in the moment to cause him a huge amount of pain and make it impossible for him to win that match, but it really struck me that when Nadal had his foot issue at Roland Garros – and let’s be honest, that was pretty much the most career-threatening injury he’d ever had. His career was in the balance there.
“But there was real certainty about what his options were – to have the treatment, and it either works or it doesn’t, it was pretty black and white. In a way that was easier to accept; he knew the situation he was in.
“This is an issue now where he’s frequently piling up injury after injury, and you have to start to wonder whether he can still take it – to constantly be in recovery mode, and coming back. He’s not getting younger, we know he’s close to the end of his career and the question is how close?
“The more injuries like this happen, you have to suspect as much motivation and determination and love for the sport that he still has, it’s going to get harder and harder to still come back … this has not come out of nowhere, but he absolutely did not expect this to disrupt his tournament.”
Whitaker then added: “Is there a limit to what he’s prepared to do? Is there a difference between a two-month period on the sidelines followed by a two-month period of rehab, and a six-month period on the sidelines and longer rehab, and longer trying to get match practice?
“I don’t think Nadal’s love for and commitment to the sport has wavered one bit – I don’t think it’s in his makeup for that ever to happen. I do just wonder if the balance of the equation has shifted a little bit in his mind?”
‘Hi Nick’ – Kokk roasts journo blunder | 00:28
As far as Nadal is concerned, the future beyond that is clearer; he says that he intends to carry on playing. But it’s just that – an intention.
“From here on, I guess when things move forward, the right decisions will be made because what I want is to continue playing tennis,” he said.
“Don’t think I’m saying all this because I want to take a step back. It is not the case, but my current feelings are bad.”
He may have been hindered by his hip against McDonald – the latest in a long line of injuries that have blighted his career.
But even prior to this the signs were not good for Nadal that he would make it a 23rd major title in Melbourne, having won number 22 at Roland Garros last year.
Following that success at the French Open, Nadal pulled out ahead of his Wimbledon semi-final with a torn abdominal muscle.
At the US Open a few weeks later, he lost in the last 16 to Frances Tiafoe and went on to lose three more times towards the end of 2022.
The retirement in September of old friend and rival Roger Federer, albeit older at 41, brought Nadal’s future in tennis into even clearer focus.
This year started no better for the Spaniard, with two defeats at the United Cup.
Nadal was then not at his best in his opener at Melbourne Park, needing four sets to defeat 38th-ranked Jack Draper, the young Briton who suffered cramps late in the match.
Collins suffers embarrassing gaffe | 01:04
Speaking after his shock defeat on Wednesday, Nadal made clear that the injuries were taking their toll.
“It hurts as always, but in the end, the glass is getting fuller,” he said in Spanish, a phrase that means getting fed up or reaching your limit.
“I’ve never been in a position to complain, life has given me so many positive things that I have no right to complain.
“But it is clear that things happen and at a sporting level the glass is filling up and there comes a time when the water can overflow.
“We have to be realistic.”
If Nadal wins the French Open, his favourite tournament, again in May-June it would be his 15th triumph there.
It is the kind of round number that would make for a perfect send-off.
