Rafael Nadal has had an underwhelming 2021 season with a persistent foot injury derailing the better part of his season.
The injury has been plaguing him on and off since 2005 which was revealed by his uncle Toni Nadal in a recent interview. In 2021 it came up during the clay season again ultimately culminating at the French Open. Nadal took some time off to try and heal it however it came back up again in Washington which forced Nadal to abandon plans for the rest of 2021.
His coach Carlos Moya also revealed that the team is not sure how to proceed and try and heal it at the moment but they will find a way. The injury issues had a big impact on the ranking of Nadal who is out of the top four for the first time since 2017. It was in 2017 that Nadal had the latest bout with injuries and it happened again in 2021.
The Spaniard is set to drop further in the rankings as the year goes on which will have significant implications for the draw in the next year, especially at Grand Slams. For Nadal, the key thing right now is to find a way to heal an injury that is difficult to pinpoint. Moya revealed that Nadal will sometimes limp off the court after practice only to be completely fine tomorrow.