By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, December 20, 2021
Rafael Nadal has tested positive for Coronavirus after returning home from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Photo credit: Mubadala World Tennis Championship
Rafael Nadal's comeback has come with a setback.
Nadal has tested positive for Coronavirus after returning home from the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. The sixth-ranked Spaniard's status for the Australian Open, which starts on January 17th, is now in question.
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Nadal: Passion to Play Without Limits
The 35-year-old Spanish superstar announced he tested positive in Spain upon his return home. Nadal was vaccinated last spring with the Pfizer vaccine.
"On my return home after playing the Abu Dhabi tournament, I have tested positive for Covid in the PCR test that was performed on me when I arrived in Spain," Nadal said in a social media post. "Both in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi we passed controls every two days and all were negative, the last being on Friday and having the results on Saturday."
Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, who was scheduled to play the Melbourne 250 event starting January 3rd in preparation for the Australian Open, said he will assess his calendar options depending on his health status.
Nadal was scheduled to fly out of Spain to Melbourne on December 29th and hoped to spend 20 days playing and practicing at Melbourne Park to prepare for the Australian Open, starting on January 17th.
Instead, Nadal will now quarantine at home for the next week before taking another test.
"I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little," Nadal said. "I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me. As a consequence of the situation, I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyze my options depending on my evolution.
"I will keep you informed of any decisions about my future tournaments! Thank you all in advance for your support and understanding."
The 13-time Roland Garros champion played his first match since August in Abu Dhabi last Friday bowing to Andy Murray. Nadal traveled to the UAE accompanied by his wife, Maria, father Sebastian, coaches Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez and his physio. His family and coaching staff who traveled with him will also be tested again.
2009 Australian Open champion Nadal pulled the plug on his 2021 season due to a chronic left foot injury after losing to Lloyd Harris in Washington, DC in August.
Playing his first match more than four months in Abu Dhabi, Nadal said he was fueled by passion to play, but well aware of the challenges he faces in his latest comeback after an injury-interrupted 2021 that saw him finish 24-5.
"It’s been crucial to be able to manage pain. It’s time to test it during the competition and if I wasn’t feeling better, I wouldn’t be here," Nadal said in Abu Dhabi. "The comeback won’t be easy, I don’t have big expectations, but my only expectation is to be here, play in front of a great crowd again, to feel myself competing again against great players and enjoy!
"It’s been a really rough period of time for me. Just being here is great news and I hope I get better and better to be able to play at the level I want to be."
Nadal joins a list of Spanish stars who have tested positive for Coronavirus this season including Paula Badosa, Carlos Alcaraz and Fernando Verdasco.