Rafael Nadal had doubts 'every single day' about returning to tennis during injury hell, prior to Australian Open

An emotional Rafael Nadal admitted he had doubts “every single day” about whether he would ever play again during his latest injury nightmare. Nadal overcame big-hitter Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1 to reach the Australian Open last 16 on Friday before opening up about the extent of his persistent foot injury. Ad/> The Spaniard had not played a competitive tournament in five months prior to touching down in Melbourne for the opening Grand Slam of 2022.

Australian OpenNadal shows class to edge past Khachanov into last-16AN HOUR AGO The chronic problem in his left foot ruled him out of Wimbledon, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and US Open. He said it got so bad that there were days he could only practise for 20 minutes. When asked by Eurosport presenter Alize Lim whether he had doubts about whether he would ever return, Nadal replied: “Every single day.

That’s true. “For a lot of months sometimes I went on court and was not able to practise more than 20 minutes, on other days for 45. And then sometimes I was able to practise for two hours.

“It’s been very difficult to predict every single day and I was working with a doctor to try and find a solution. I tried different things but it’s tough.” ‘I'm not God, I can't win every match!’ – Osaka ‘really happy’ despite defeat 'I had to pick it up' — Krejcikova rages after getting time violation Nadal said the uncertainty surrounding the injury made it much tougher to deal with mentally. “Even if I went through that process a couple of times in my career, I always say the same: the injuries are much easier to accept when you know you have a calendar [for your recovery],” he continued.