Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal says he intends to play

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal stated on Friday he intends to play at Wimbledon however his remaining resolution rests on how his troublesome left foot feels after coaching in London subsequent week.

“My intention is to play at Wimbledon,” Nadal stated at a press convention in Mallorca.

“The treatment and the last week of training tells me there is a chance. I will travel to London on Monday, play an exhibition at Hurlingham and do a week of training to see if it’s possible.”

Nadal stated injections meant his left foot felt “asleep” in the course of the French Open remaining on June 5 – he nonetheless beat Casper Ruud to assert a record-extending twenty second Grand Slam title.

Nadal, who confirmed he was going to be a father for the primary time, travelled to Barcelona final week to start “pulsed radiofrequency stimulation”, a remedy aimed toward decreasing nerve ache.

Nadal’s spokesperson stated the remedy would depart the nerves in his foot “temporarily numb”.

The 36-year-old then had his first session on grass on Monday on the Mallorca Country Club in Santa Ponca and has steadily elevated the depth of his coaching this week.

“I have noticed a difference, some slightly strange feelings to be honest,” stated Nadal.

“With the treatment in the nerves, things happen in your foot, sometimes one part of the foot goes numb, sometimes another.

“It’s normal apparently and after a few weeks the nerves reorganise themselves.

“I’m happy. I’ve felt a bit of pain, but it’s different to what I had before, which for me is progress.”

Nadal has received Wimbledon twice in his profession, in 2008 and 2010.

He missed final 12 months’s match as a consequence of ache in the identical left foot whereas the 2020 match was cancelled because of the pandemic, that means Nadal is hoping to make his first look on the All England Club in three years.

“I will travel to London, play two matches there before the tournament and follow my normal schedule to prepare for Wimbledon,” Nadal stated.

“Who knows what can happen in a couple of days – if the situation changes or something more negative (happens), there will be a moment to explain.

“But I am excited to travel to Wimbledon and to play for the first time in three years.”

He stated his plan is to “play Wimbledon, rest, then Canada and then the US Open.”

Nadal’s career-results have been, comparatively, much less constant at Wimbledon, and he admits his lack of match-practice on grass may go away him weak on this 12 months’s early rounds.

“Playing well at Roland Garros helps the confidence level but grass is a different surface and there is little logic to these things,” the world quantity 4 stated.

“I haven’t played on grass for three years and it will be difficult. The first rounds will be crucial – if you get through them, the opponents are more difficult, but you also play with more rhythm.

“The first matches you play, against people with recent experience on these courts, are a bit of a lottery.”

He then turned to non-public issues, saying: “If all goes well, I’m going to be a father.

“I’m not used to talking about my personal life, I prefer to keep a low-profile for tranquility. I don’t anticipate this to mean a change in my professional life,” Nadal stated.