PARIS: Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam title collection closes at 22 but if it wasn’t for a succession of problems with his ankles, knees, elbow and wrists, the figure could have been even more impressive. In his career, which stretched two decades, the 38-year-old Spaniard missed 18 Grand Slams and withdrew mid-tournament at the majors five times. The creaks were getting louder over the last few years.

When he thrashed Casper Ruud in the 2022 French Open final, his final Grand Slam title, he revealed he had required daily pain-killing injections in his foot. He then underwent a radical surgical procedure, having the nerves burned in his foot to eradicate the pain.

Nadal then swept into the Wimbledon semi-finals but an eagerly-anticipated showdown with Nick Kyrgios was shelved after the Spaniard failed to recover from an abdominal strain. Fast forward to the 2023 Australian Open where he was hampered by a hip injury during his shock second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald. It was his earliest exit from a Slam since 2016.

His wife Mery was in tears in the Melbourne crowd while his coaching team could hardly dare to look. That injury spelled the beginning of the end for Nadal, who shut it down for the rest of 2023 and would play just one more Grand Slam match — losing in the first round of this year’s French Open.

A left foot problem caused him to miss Wimbledon, US Open and the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and Nadal did not return until the build-up to the 2022 Australian Open, which he went on to win for the second time, 13 years after his first.

But after losing to Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final, the Spaniard had to skip the start of the clay-court season in Monte Carlo and Barcelona with a rib stress fracture.

Many pundits consistently predicted Nadal would struggle to enjoy a long career due to his gruelling style of play but he proved them wrong time and again. Nadal’s first injury-enforced absence from the ATP Tour came as a 16-year-old in 2003 when he hurt his elbow in a fall during training and had to miss the French Open.

He was forced to sit out at least one tournament in every year of his career. Nadal even played briefly with bandaged fingers after burning himself accidentally at a restaurant in 2011, while he also missed the end of the 2014 season due to appendicitis.

Despite missing so many events, Nadal’s will to win saw him lift 92 ATP titles and win 1,080 matches on tour. “It hurts as always,” said Nadal after his defeat to McDonald. “But in the end, the glass is getting fuller,” he added 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.” — AFP