Tennis star Rafael Nadal misses the Australian Open. The 37-year-old Spaniard announced this this Sunday. The 22-time Grand Slam winner suffered another injury during his comeback tournament in Brisbane after a year's break, which prevented him from taking part in the first Grand Slam of the year in Melbourne (January 14th to 28th). An MRI scan revealed a muscle injury, but not at the site of his serious injury. Nadal last played at the Australian Open in January 2023 and then underwent hip flexor surgery. A long period of suffering followed.
“At the moment I'm not ready to give maximum performance in five-set matches. That's why I'm now flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get treatment and rest,” Nadal said on Instagram. “Even though it's sad for me that I can't play in front of the fantastic spectators in Melbourne, that's not very bad news,” Nadal added: “And we're all positive about the further developments this season. “
Rune misses title in Brisbane
Nadal lost to Australian Jordan Thompson 7:5, 6:7 (6:8), 3:6 after 3:26 hours and missed three match points in the second set. In the third round, the long-time world number one was treated for a few minutes, but played the match to the end. He now wants to secure the historic title number 15 at his favorite tournament, the French Open, in June – the tennis competitions at the Olympic Games in Paris will also take place at the same location in the Stade Roland Garros. The Spaniard had announced that 2024 would likely be his last season.
Meanwhile, Holger Rune, trained by Boris Becker, missed out on his first title of the new year in Brisbane. The 20-year-old Dane lost in the final of the ATP tournament against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrow 6:7 (5:7), 4:6.
In the women's category, Kazakh Jelena Rybakina and Coco Gauff from the USA won the first titles of the new season. Rybakina outclassed world number two Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus 6:0, 6:3 at the WTA tournament in Brisbane. Gauff defeated Jelina Svitolina from Ukraine 6:7 (4:7), 6:3, 6:3 in the final in Auckland.
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