"He pushed his body a little bit too much" - Wilander on the nature of Nadal's injury

Mats Wilander believed Rafael Nadal pushed his body a little bit too much in the past few weeks which contributed to the injury he suffered.

Whilst 21-time Grand Slam legend Rafael Nadal has enjoyed an excellent start to the new season, he has now been ruled out for four to six weeks after sustaining a fractured rib at the Indian Wells Masters. The Spaniard struggled to breathe and had a sharp pain in his chest throughout the final after he cracked a rib in his semi-final encounter against compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

Speaking to Eurosport, seven-time Grand Slam great Mats Wilander sai:

"In a perfect world, I would’ve thought that once he won the tournament in Acapulco, Mexico, playing as well as he did, beating [Daniil] Medvedev again in two sets, beating Cameron Norrie in the finals in two sets, I was 100% sure he wasn’t going to play in Indian Wells or Miami. That he would take a month off from tournaments and then go to his normal schedule which is play the clay-court."

He continued:

“So I think maybe he pushed his body a little bit too much. But with Rafa Nadal, he loves tennis and competing so much that when he’s feeling good he’s going to go out there and run as hard as he can. People are saying ‘Rafa Nadal will not last a long time because of injuries.’ I’ve always said kind of the opposite."

He finsihed off with:

“Rafa Nadal will last until he gets injured, then he’ll go home and he’ll rehab, and then he’ll play again and he’ll push himself so hard physically, mentally and emotionally that he’ll get injured again. Then he’ll go home, he’ll rehab, then he starts again. This is his career and it’s not easy, he keeps saying that himself, but he’s had a pretty decent career. "