Rafael Nadal, suffering from abdominal injury, practices ahead of Wimbledon semifinal

07.07.2022 - 19:47 espn.com

Rafael Nadal practiced for around 45 minutes at Wimbledon on Thursday as he tries to shake off an abdominal injury in time to be fit for Friday's semifinal against Australian Nick Kyrgios.

The Spaniard spent most of the time hitting forehands and backhands, and though he did practice some serves, they were at a vastly reduced speed.

Spanish newspaper Marca reported Thursday that Nadal has a 7-millimeter tear in one of his abdominal muscles, but that he intends to play.

Nadal is on the official order of play on Friday and has a little extra time to recover as he is scheduled in the second semifinal.

Semifinal Rafael Nadal Nick Kyrgios Taylor Fritz France Spain Australia

Rafael Nadal no longer stands in the way of a 21st Grand Slam triumph. The Spanish second seed was Thursday forced to pull out before his last-four match against Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal injury, admitting defeat in his race to be fit. Nadal's withdrawal deprives the tournament of a blockbuster semi-final against Kyrgios, which had been on the cards since the Australian beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in a bad-tempered third-round match.

Rafael Nadal: Brilliant career cursed by injury

Rafael Nadal has collected a record 22 Grand Slam titles but a career plagued by injuries has undoubtedly robbed him of even more. On Thursday, his physical frailties returned to haunt him when he was forced out of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury, just a day before he was to face Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals. Before his latest setback, he had already missed 11 Grand Slam events stretching back to his debut in 2003. He has also now pulled out during a Slam five times.

Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon due to injury, sending Nick Kyrgios straight to the final

By David Close, CNN

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon semi-final with abdominal injury

Rafael Nadal's hopes of completing a rare calendar year Grand Slam ended on Thursday when the Spaniard pulled out of his highly-anticipated Wimbledon semi-final showdown with Australian Nick Kyrgios with an abdominal strain. "I have to pull out of the tournament as I have been suffering with pain in abdominal," said the 36-year-old, the holder of a men's record 22 Grand Slam titles. "I can't imagine winning two matches with this (pain). For me the most important thing is happiness rather than the title even though everyone knows how much effort I put into this as I can't risk being out of the sport for two to three months.

Rafael Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon due to injury as Nick Kyrgios gets bye into final

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from Wimbledon ahead of his semi-final with Nick Kyrgios, meaning the Australian will get a bye into the men’s singles final.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Wimbledon semifinal with torn abdominal muscle

Rafael Nadal has pulled out of Friday's Wimbledon semifinal against Nick Kyrgios with a torn abdominal muscle.