22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal has pulled out of Wimbledon ahead of Friday’s semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios with a torn abdominal muscle.
Nadal revealed he had been experiencing pain in the region for the past week but the injury worsened during his quarter-final clash with Taylor Fritz.
Speaking to reporters, Nadal said, “Unfortunately, as you can imagine if I am here, I have to pull out from the tournament. As everybody saw yesterday, I have been suffering from pain in my abdomen. I know something was not Ok there, as I said yesterday.”
Nadal’s withdrawal means Kyrgios, who had qualified for a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time after defeating Cristian Garin on Wednesday, will now face either Novak Djokovic or Cameron Norrie in Sunday’s championship match.
Spanish newspaper Marca reported that Nadal had a 7-millimetre tear in one of his abdominal muscles. Nadal said he chose to pull out because he believed he would not play his best with the injury.
“I made my decision because I believe that I can’t win two matches under these circumstances,” Nadal explained. “I can’t serve. It’s not only that I can’t serve at the right speed, it’s that I can’t do the normal movement to serve.”
Nadal was aiming to win Wimbledon for the third time since his first in 2010. This was his first appearance at Wimbledon since 2019. The veteran said he expects to make a full recovery within three to four weeks.
