Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal reflects on his Australian Open injury and loss to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the year's first Grand Slam.

“I think during the match every time I was a little bit closer and was understanding better the things that I had to do to overcome the situation. “I was not able to hit the backhand at all. I was not able to run for the ball. “But I don't know 'til I do the test and all this stuff, I don't know. That's the philosophy of the sport. “I have history in the hip that I had issues. “That's the sport at the same time. “I considered all the time stopping, but I didn't ask the physiotherapist at the end. I had to do treatments in the past, address a little. It's all the amount of work that you need to put together to come back at a decent level.” So I really hope that [this] doesn't put me out of the court for a long time, because then it's tough to make all the recovery again. From there, the match was the American’s for the taking, and take it McDonald did by a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 margin.

Rafael Nadal admitted he felt “mentally destroyed” after the defence of his Australian Open title ended in injury and defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald ...

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) “I didn’t want to retire being defending champion here. Asked why he did not retire, Nadal said: “I was not able to hit the backhand at all. In the end it has been three positive weeks in terms of practice. I just can’t say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying. Sometimes it’s frustrating. It was not the right moment to have something like this now. “In the end, I can’t complain about my life at all. “I tried until the end. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little (but there) was not this amount of problem. I don’t know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. He said: “It has been a couple of days like this, but nothing like today in that movement.

Injured Rafael Nadal says he is "mentally destroyed" after his Australian Open title defence comes to an end in the second round.

I don't know what can happen in the future." But of course it's tiring and frustrating to [spend] a lot of my tennis career on recovering process and trying to fight against all this stuff all the time. "That's the essence of the sport by itself. "It's a very simple thing: I like what I do," he said. "It's not only the recovery. I think, but that's not easy."

A year after the 'Miracle in Melbourne', Rafael Nadal will be catching an early flight home following a second round exit at the Australian Open - and for ...

To be struck down by another injury was hugely disappointing for Nadal, who added: "In terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, that's another one. I don't know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. Nadal was running out wide to hit a forehand when he appeared to jar his left hip, immediately touching the area and dropping to his haunches. Nadal’s exit spoke volumes as he walked into the middle of the court and was given a standing ovation by the capacity crowd inside Rod Laver Arena. Post-match Nadal revealed he had come into the match with an issue in his hip that then became significantly worse. The Spaniard succumbed to a 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 defeat against USA's Mackenzie McDonald - his earliest exit at Melbourne Park since an opening round loss in 2016.

A hip injury clearly hampered the No 1 seed, who lost to the world No 65 Mackenzie McDonald in Melbourne.

“Mackenzie McDonald deserves a lot of credit because he was up on that baseline and the one dictating, which was kind of the outcome,” Henman said on Eurosport. It’s so much faster and you need to push off immediately and there is a lot of luck involved.” It's all the amount of work that you need to put together to come back at a decent level. When he pulled up that sharply, we thought the writing was on the wall but McDonald still had to keep his focus and at the end of the day he deserved his victory. “I really hope that [the injury] doesn't put me out of the court for a long time, because then it's tough to make all the recovery again. Despite his ropey start to the match, he had felt as if he were beginning to get a handle on McDonald’s slippery game before the injury happened. It's a tough day, and you need to accept that, and keep going. As he sat in his chair with his head bowed, waiting for the trainer to arrive, one could only think back to the many injuries that have bedevilled him over the last year, including the so-called “zombie foot” which required a nerve to be desensitised, and two separate instances of torn abdominal muscles. But he looked to be playing out of respect for the game and his opponent rather than any belief that he could win. “But I don't know till I do the test and all this stuff. “I had to do treatments in the past, address a little. “I have history in the hip that I had issues,” Nadal explained afterwards.

Rafael Nadal's Australian Open title defence is over after a second-round defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald.

"At the end of the day, it's not rocket science. He subsequently withdrew from the tournament before his semi-final against Nick Kyrgios. He limped through the rest of the game and then left court for a medical timeout, returning to see out the second set. Nadal was running out wide to pick up a forehand when he appeared to jar his left hip, immediately touching the area and dropping to his haunches. The abdominal injury he picked up at SW19 then hampered him at the US Open, where he suffered a fourth-round exit against Frances Tiafoe and appeared to injure his rib. The Spaniard, 36, was trailing by a set and a break when he pulled up with what appeared to be a hip problem.

As Rafael Nadal got ready to step off the Rod Laver Arena, he paused for a prolonged goodbye.

I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little but there was not this amount of problem. In the end, it has been three positive weeks in terms of practice. “It has been a couple of days like this but nothing like today in that movement,” he said. In the end, he was saved more by Draper’s own physical issues than his own tennis. Whether his decision to do so worsened the injury, only time will tell. The Spaniard has been written off so many times by a series of career-threatening injuries only to return.

Rafael Nadals defence of his Australian Open title ends in injury and defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round; Nadal takes medical timeout ...

Asked why he did not retire, Nadal said: "I was not able to hit the backhand at all. But I kind of just kept focusing on myself and got through. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little [but there] was not this amount of problem. I don't know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. In the end it has been three positive weeks in terms of practice. He said: "It has been a couple of days like this, but nothing like today in that movement.

Since the beginning of the 2022 season, Rafael Nadal has lost 11 matches and seven of those have come against players from North America.

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) Shapovalov also got a walkover win at the Paris Masters in 2019. [News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/news/) [Live Tennis](https://www.tennis365.com/category/live-tennis/) [Tennis News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/tennis-news/) [Universal Tennis serve up realistic ratings system – with Novak Djokovic top](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/universal-tennis-rankings-djokovic/) [beat the Spaniard 7-6 (7-3), 6-1](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/nadal-no1-taylor-fritz-atpfinals/) at the ATP Finals in Turin. [securing a 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victor](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/alarming-moment-rafael-nadal-paris/)y. [he won 6-3, 6-4](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/felix-auger-aliassime-topples-rafael-nadal-in-turin-to-dent-no-1-hopes/) during the group phase of the season-ending tournament in Turin, Italy. [a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/frances-tiafoe-stuns-rafael-nadal-us-open-tears/) for his first-career win over his esteemed colleague. [going down 3–6, 6–7 (5–7)](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/nadal-no1-taylor-fritz-atpfinals/). [he suffered a 1-6, 7-5, 6-2 defeat](https://www.tennis365.com/tennis-news/denis-shapovalov-huge-fan-injured-rafael-nadal-french-open/) at the hands of Canadian Shapovalov.

The top seed suffered a hip problem during the second set of his 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat.

Asked why he did not retire, Nadal said: “I was not able to hit the backhand at all. “In the end, I can’t complain about my life at all. It was not the right moment to have something like this now. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little (but there) was not this amount of problem. I don’t know if in good conditions I will win the match, I will have better chances without a doubt. “I tried until the end.

Californian Mackenzie McDonald, ranked 65th in the world outpowered the 22-time grand slam winner Rafael Nadal to clinch a shock straight-set victory, ...

it's a huge disrespect to the opponents if every time you complain of injury in every lost,' one fan wrote. it's a huge disrespect to the opponents if every time you complain of injury in every lost,' one fan wrote (pictured) Having decided to carry on there were discussions between the player and his box, with anxious looks all round. There was no immediate public diagnosis but the problem area looked to be around his lower left ab and hip. Nadal struggled with injury throughout, appearing to injure his left hip during the second set (pictured, a medic attends to the tennis star during the men's singles match on day three of the Australian Open in Melbourne) he should just retire if everything hurts.

In the eagerly anticipated women's singles clash between Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu, the American triumphed over the Brit in straight sets, though she had to ...

[Australian Open](https://www.tennis365.com/category/australian-open/) How do you recover from that?! [News](https://www.tennis365.com/category/news/) “How did she not remember that? I need to work on that a bit!” I just told myself at least you didn’t face plant on the floor, I was trying to keep things in perspective.

Stubbs made her prediction after watching the 22-time grand slam champion get a standing ovation as he left the court after his straight-sets loss to ...

It's all the amount of work that you need to put together to come back at a decent level. And that was not my case. The good news? This time last year, he reeled off 21 straight match wins to begin 2022. 'It's not only the recovery. I think his swan song will be at RG.

Rafael Nadal leaves the court after losing to Mackenzie McDonald in the Australian Open. MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/AFP via Getty Images. CNN ...

“He’s going to be the first one to bring it up and I think he deserves that. You are doing the things that you want to do.” “I don’t think we need to speculate constantly about when that’s going to be. When he feels right, it’s going to be right. “When you like do one thing, at the end, sacrifices always make sense, because the ‘sacrifice’ word is not like this. Ultimately, it’s up to him. “I like playing tennis and I know it’s not forever. This new injury is the latest in a long list that have hampered Nadal throughout his career. “It’s very simple: I like what I do,” Nadal told reporters, per ESPN. “Here we are again, six months later, and he’s dealing with another issue in that same area. That’s the sport at the same time – just try your best until the end.” “It’s better like this at the end.

Spain's Rafael Nadal is expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks with a hip injury that hampered him during his exit from the Australian Open.

"The scan showed a grade two injury in the psoas of the left leg," Nadal tweeted on Thursday. [he was "mentally destroyed"](https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/64314854) after his title defence in Melbourne came to an end. [a 6-4 6-4 7-5 defeat by American Mackenzie McDonald](https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/64314237) in the second round on Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal updated his fans by revealing the results of an MRI following an injury he suffered in the second round of the Australian Open.

He also competed in the [United Cup](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/brisbane-perth-sydney/9900/2023/results) to begin his season. At 3-4 in the second set against McDonald, the Spaniard chased a forehand wide and aggravated an injury that he admitted he had felt for a couple of days. "The MRI shows a grade 2 injury in the iliopsoas muscle in my left leg.

A scan in Melbourne on Thursday showed the Spaniard suffered a tear to the iliopsoas muscle in his left hip.

“An injury like that is hard and at this age it takes even longer to get back into shape. Let’s see how the injury is, and then let’s see how I can manage to follow the calendar.” I hope and pray that he will get well soon and that we will see him looking fresh again in Paris at the latest.

Rafael Nadal injured himself during his second-round defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open.

Nadal has now undergone assessment and an MRI scan to determine the extent of the injury, and announced that he tore a muscle in the leg. But it works out to end exactly when the 'sunshine double' of the Indian Wells and Miami Masters start. [Rafael Nadal](/latest/rafael-nadal) crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round on Wednesday after picking up an injury halfway through the match and has now learned exactly what the issue is.