Tennis: Rafael Nadal Tests COVID-19 Positive After Returning From Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, Australian Open 2022 Participation in Doubt

Nadal who returned to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi last week has announced that he has tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival in Spain.

Delhi: Big setback for Tennis fans around the world as former world number and 20-time Grand Slam champion – Rafael Nadal had tested positive for the dreaded COVID-19 virus. Nadal who returned to his native place – Manacor, Spain confirmed the news through his official Twitter handle on Monday. Making a comeback from an injury, the 35-year-old participated in the recently-concluded Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week.

The 20-times Grand Slam champion stated that he was having some “unpleasant moments” but was hoping to feel better soon and would keep people informed about his future plans. Nadal recently said he cannot guarantee he will make the trip to year’s first GS – Australian Open 2022 which begins on January 17 in Melbourne Park.

“Hola a todos. Quería anunciaros que en mi regreso a casa tras disputar el torneo de Abu Dhabi, he dado positivo por COVID en la prueba PCR que se me ha realizado al llegar a España,” Rafa wrote in Spanish which roughly translates to: Hi all. I wanted to announce that 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 he had tested negative at all times when he was in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, and had last tested negative on Friday last week.

Hola a todos. Quería anunciaros que en mi regreso a casa tras disputar el torneo de Abu Dhabi, he dado positivo por COVID en la prueba PCR que se me ha realizado al llegar a España.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) December 20, 2021

The Spaniard, who spent four months on the sidelines with a foot injury, made a comeback at the exhibition event in Abu Dhabi — his first tournament appearance since the Citi Open in Washington in August. However, it was not a fruitful comeback for the ‘King of Clay’ as he suffered back-to-back defeats against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov respectively.

“I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little. I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me,” he wrote.

“As a result of the situation I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyse my options depending on my evolution. I will keep you informed of any decisions about my future tournaments.”

The 13-time French Open champion – Nadal was knocked out at Roland Garros in the semifinals by world no. Novak Djokovic and was forced to pull out of Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the U.S. Open.