Rafael Nadal news: Tennis great believes Spaniard pushed his body too much after Mexican Open

Rafael Nadal announced he would be unable to play at the Miami Open a day after he competed in the final of the BNP Paribas Open when he was beaten by Taylor Fritz due to a rib injury he picked up during his semi final tie with Carlos Alcaraz, and tennis legend Mats Wilander believes he pushed his body too much.

The Australian Open champion is now out of action for four to six weeks and it could be a doubt whether he’ll be ready and available for the French Open in May.

Wilander believes Nadal should have taken a month break after he won the Mexican Open but he also conceded that’s not the 21 time Grand Slam winner’s style.

Hola todos, quería anunciaros que he vuelto a España y fui enseguida a visitar a mi equipo médico para hacerme las pruebas tras la final de Indian Wells que jugué con molestias.

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) March 22, 2022

“In a perfect world I would have thought that after he won the tournament in Acapulco, Mexico playing as well as he did, beating Medvedev again in two sets, beating Cameron Norrie in the finals in two sets, I was 100% sure that he was not going to go and play in Indian Wells or Miami,” the 57-year-old told Eurosport.

“I thought that he would take a month off from tournaments and then go to his normal schedule which is play the clay courts, I think maybe he pushed his body a little bit too much.

“But with Rafa Nadal he loves tennis and competing so much that when he’s feeling good he’s going to go out there and he’s going to run as hard as he can.”

The 13 time French Open winner is the only player in history to have won 21 Grand Slam titles, but the road to success hasn’t been easy given Nadal’s style is to carry on playing until he breaks.

“People are saying Rafa Nadal will not last a