Rafael Nadal played only two matches after the last year’s Roland Garros, terminating the year in August following a severe foot injury. Rafa re-injured his troubled left foot in the Roland Garros semi-final against Novak Djokovic. He barely endured the fourth set and struggled for the rest of the season after testing his body in Washington. As many times before, Nadal raised above the problems and made a perfect start to the 2022 season with 20 wins from as many encounters! Rafa claimed his first Australian Open crown since 2009 following an epic comeback against Daniil Medvedev in the final.
The Spaniard lifted another trophy in Acapulco and reached the Indian Wells final. Rafa fractured his rib in the semi-final and fell to Taylor Fritz in the title match for his first loss in 2022. Nadal skipped Monte Carlo and Barcelona, eager to recover for notable events in May and June. Instead, the king of clay lacked form in Madrid and Rome and scored only three wins. To make things worse, the foot pain was present again, and Nadal was not in a good position ahead of Roland Garros. Rafa lost to Denis Shapovalov in the third round at Foro Italico, almost retiring in the third set and leaving Rome limping!
Rafael Nadal had to find a solution for his troubled foot.
The Spaniard brought his doctor to Paris and received foot injections before every match to kill the pain and endure the best-of-five efforts over two weeks! Nadal did that in style, as many times in the past in Paris. He overcame the most challenging obstacles to regain the trophy lost to Novak Djokovic a year ago. Rafa overpowered Djokovic in the quarter-final after over four hours. He built a tight lead against Alexander Zverev before the German retired after three hours of an epic battle in the semi-final. Nadal advanced to his 14th Roland Garros final and toppled Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 for the 22nd Major crown! Rafa spoke about Roland Garros in his recent interview and stated he would not have had a chance in Paris without doctors. They killed the pain in his foot, and the king of clay did the rest on the court, backed by the Australian Open success. Also, he admitted he thought about retirement despite winning a Major, unable to deal with foot pain without a permanent solution. Luckily, Nadal found a proper treatment, hoping to leave the pain behind and extend his career for a few more years.
“I was so happy after winning Roland Garros. However, I thought about retirement at the same time. I knew it would be impossible to continue without finding a solution for my troubled foot and chronic pains,” Rafael Nadal said.
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