Nadal Practices With Abdominal Tear, Withdraws From Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal practiced through his abdominal injury Thursday ahead of what would have been his Wimbledon semifinals match against Nick Kyrgios. 

But despite this practice session, Nadal reportedly will not compete for the remainder of the tournament, withdrawing later on Thursday, he confirmed during his press conference. Kyrgios will walkover into the final as a result. 

According to multiple reports including BBC Sport, the legendary tennis player has a seven-millimeter tear in his abdominals that was discovered during a scan earlier Thursday. Spanish newspaper Marca also reported the news.  

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim reported the Spaniard’s practice session lasted around 44 minutes as he hit balls with Marc Lopez for 33 minutes. Nadal also reportedly practiced serves.

The Spaniard is coming off a four-hour, five-set match against Taylor Fritz that ended in a tiebreak, going 3–6, 7–5, 3–6, 7–5, 7–6 (4). The 36-year-old did have to take a medical timeout due to the abdominal issue, but he outlasted the 24-year-old.

Nadal last won Wimbledon in 2010, but he’s on a hot Grand Slam streak right now, though this withdrawal takes him out of the running for a calendar year Grand Slam. His ’22 record is 19–0, the second-longest streak in his major career, and he won this year’s Australian Open and French Open.