Rafael Nadal will be out for a long time after surgery. © ANSA / LUKAS COCH / STF

After surgery: Tennis star Nadal has to miss 5 months

Rafael Nadal has to miss around five months before his planned farewell tour. After his hip operation, the tennis star begins rehab.

June 03, 2023

From: cst/dpa

Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal is expected to be out for around five months following hip surgery. He announced this via Twitter on his 37th birthday on Saturday. The 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner had surgery on his injured left hip flexor in Barcelona on Friday, around two weeks after his cancellation for the French Open. The operation went well and an injury to the joint lip was also repaired, he said.

He will begin rehab immediately; the normal recovery process is five months, “if everything goes well,” he wrote and thanked everyone for all the good wishes. “Today is also my birthday. Not in the place we wanted and dreamed of, but THANK YOU nonetheless.”

No match since the Australian Open

Nadal has not played a match since his second round exit at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. He recently canceled the clay court classic in Paris and announced a longer break. He wants to end his career next year and once again play the tournaments that mean the most to him. With the predicted downtime, participation in the Australian Open, which he has won twice, in January 2024 would not be ruled out.