Rafael Nadal
The US Open starts on Monday. Rafael Nadal will not serve in Flushing Meadows. The Spaniard is fighting for his career.
Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams or Dominic Thiem – the dropout list at the last Grand Slam of the year is particularly prominent in 2021. While Austria's number one is already working on a comeback, the careers of Federer, Williams and Nadal are drawing to a close.
At 35 years of age, the Spanish clay court “king” would actually have a few years at the top level ahead of him, but an illness is now threatening the Mallorcan career: the Müller-Weiss syndrome. In this condition, the scaphoid bone in the metatarsus is deformed. The rare disease usually breaks out in childhood, but is only discovered later when the joints are exposed to greater stress.
Nadal's syndrome was only discovered 16 years ago when the Spanish shooting star was just 19 years old. “The day after a game I woke up and limped, I had a small scaphoid bone injury, because it was thinner, it broke in half. Since then, a lump has formed there,” recalled the 20-time Grand Slam winner return. Doctors puzzled, even advising Nadal to retire early if the condition of the metatarsus worsened.
But Nadal was fighting for his career. “I used a very aggressive insole that distracts the pivot point of the left foot,” the now 35-year-old once said. The pain in the navicular bone disappeared, but other parts of the body were more stressed. Nadal was able to change his movements, but repeatedly struggled with knee problems – a consequence of the Müller-Weiss syndrome.
After the semi-final defeat at the French Open against Novak Djokovic, Nadal was plagued by foot problems again, took a break to be eliminated from the tournament in Washington after only two games. After that, the Spaniard had declared the season over and was aiming for a comeback in 2022. “I am aware of the foot problems. I have to work in the hope that it will get better and have to learn to live with it when it occurs” , says Nadal.
