Rafa Nadal to miss Australian Open due to muscle tear

Rafa Nadal will miss the Australian Open this month after the Spaniard suffered a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International last week, the 22-times Grand Slam champion said on Sunday.

Nadal made his long-awaited comeback in Brisbane after spending almost a year on the sidelines with a hip flexor injury sustained during his second round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald in last year's Australian Open.

The 37-year-old did not compete again last season after undergoing surgery in June and sustained an upper left leg issue during his defeat by Jordan Thompson in the quarter-finals of the tune-up event for the Melbourne Park major from 14-28 January.

Hi all, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried. Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that's good news.
Right… pic.twitter.com/WpApfzjf3C

"During my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried," Nadal said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

"Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that's good news.

"Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level of exigence in five sets matches. I'm flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest."

Nadal, who won the Australian Open in 2009 and 2022, said he had worked extremely hard to make his comeback during the year and stressed that despite the latest setback his goal was to be at his best in three months.

Nadal also said in an interview with Spanish newspaper