Rafael Nadal Loses at Australian Open After Hip Injury: 'I Can't Say That I'm Not Destroyed Mentally'
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Rafael Nadal was ousted from the Australian Open on Wednesday in its second round after a shocking loss to Mackenzie McDonald, therefore ending his attempt at extending his Grand Slam trophy for a record 23rd time.
"It's a tough moment, it's a tough day, and you need to accept that and keep going," the defending champion and No. 1 seed, 36, said in a press conference following the Open's second round match. "Just can't say that I am not destroyed mentally this time because I would be lying."
His exit came along with an injury in the eighth game, which Nadal suffered nearly 90 minutes into the match, according o the New York Times. Crouching down in pain, Nadal was checked out by a medical official before returning to the court. He returned to play on but was visibly limping, his pain appearing to stem from his right hip.
He was ultimately defeated by McDonald, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
"I don't know what's going on, if it's muscle, if it's joint," Nadal told reporters post-match. "I have history in the hip. I had to do treatments in the past, address a little. It was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move."
The athlete went on to say that he hoped the injury wouldn't sideline his career. "I like playing tennis," he noted. "I know it's not forever. I like to feel myself competitive. I like to fight for the things that I have been fighting for almost half of my life or even more.
This Spring, he's expected to return to the French Open, which he's won a notable 14 times. His win last year made him the oldest champion to triumph in the tournament, which he first won at just 19 years old in 2005.
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Nadal has had his fair share of injuries in the past, though not even a bloody nose could stop him from advancing to the next round at the US Open in September 2022.
Prior to competing in the US Open, Nadal struggled with an abdominal tear that kept him from facing Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July 2022. "It's obvious that if I keep going, the injury [is] gonna be worse and worse," he said in a press conference at the time.
He was out, too, for six weeks due to rib fracture ahead of last May's French Open, relaying to fans in March 2022: "I've always had this fighting spirit and what I'll do is be patient and work hard after recovering."
RELATED: Rafael Nadal Withdraws from Wimbledon Semifinals After Suffering an Abdominal Injury
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In better health last January, Nadal won a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. The athlete also won another title at Acapulco in February 2022 and extended his winning streak to 20 matches before his defeat in the Indian Wells final.
But as he himself has noted, age brings limitations and his time in tennis may not last another decade. Until that moment, Nadal — whose wife Mery Perelló gave birth to their first child, son Rafael Nadal Perelló, in October — is going to continue to do everything he can to stay in it.
"When you like doing one thing, sacrifices always make sense," he told reporters on Wednesday. "Sacrifices always make sense.
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As for McDonald, the 65th-ranked American player praised Nadal's tenacity on the court, calling it a "'never over until it's over' type thing."
"He didn't even want to roll over and quit. He kept fighting until basically the end, even though he maybe didn't have all his game,'' McDonald, 27, told reporters, noting that in previous matches against Nadal, "he kicked my butt."
It wasn't until he was in the locker room afterwards that McDonald's win on Wednesday sunk in. "I was like, `Hey, that's actually really big for me, because I haven't beaten someone of that caliber.' "
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