Former world number one Rafael 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.
The 20-time grand slam champion took to Twitter to announce the news, “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.
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
“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.
“As a consequence of the situation, I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyze my options depending on my evolution. I will keep you informed of any decisions about my future tournaments. Thank you all in advance for your support and understanding," he said in a statement.
Nadal, who had played just two matches in six months after a foot injury that ruled him out of Wimbledon and the US Open, was back in action for the first time since August.
DOUBTS OVER AUSTRALIAN OPEN PARTICIPATION
There was uncertainty over the Spaniard’s participation in the upcoming Australian Open, and now the contraction of virus further casts doubts on his Melbourne tour.
Last week Rafa said that he cannot guarantee he will make the trip to Melbourne for the season’s first Grand Slam after returning to action at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
“The idea is to go there and try my best there in Australia… Being 100% honest, I can’t guarantee it," Nadal said.
“I need to speak with my team…Its more than six months since the last real official match. Things are difficult and I accept that… I was able to compete in both matches and even had my chances, so if we put that in perspective it’s a very positive thing.
“I went through this process unfortunately a lot of times in my tennis career but I need to practice and I need to be healthy enough to go through this process. If that happens, I’m confident that I will be back," Nadal added.
Rafael Nadal was up against Andy Murray in the semi-final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship and the Scot won the battle of two former world number ones 6-3, 7-5.
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