Rafael Nadal has had a thumping start to this year. The Spaniard won a hattrick of titles to begin the 2022 season, claiming victories at the Melbourne Summer Set, the Australian Open, and the Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco.

However, his season has come to an abrupt halt just before the clay-court swing. The 35-year-old suffered a stress fracture in his ribs during the BNP Paribas Open. As a result, Nadal is away from the tour following the Indian Wells Masters. The injury has already seen him miss the Monte Carlo Masters, and the Barcelona Open.

Nadal has returned to his hometown to recover from his latest injury setback. Recently, he spent quality time with his family back home.

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Rafael Nadal enjoys a special Easter with his cousins

Nadal’s sister, Maribel Nadal took to Instagram to share their bonding over the festival. The 21-time Grand Slam champion was accompanied by his cousins to celebrate Easter. Further, the family had a wonderful time together in Mallorca, Spain.

Earlier, Nadal’s personal doctor, Dr. Cotorro,  gave the details about the Spaniard’s rib injury. He said, “We’re going to adapt the work in function of the pain. For now, priority is to remove the pain. Once the pain’s removed we’ll be working as much as we can. With this in mind & the evolution it has, we’ll see if we can shorten the time…4-6 weeks is quite logical.”

After an injury-laden 2021, Nadal hit the top gear this season. Before being sidelined due to his rib injury, the Spaniard enjoyed a 20-match winning streak since the beginning of the 2022 season. However, Taylor Fritz snapped his unbeaten run in the final of the Indian Wells Masters, the Spaniard’s only loss so far in 2022.

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If Nadal doesn’t have a timely return from his injury, he might potentially miss the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, casting a shadow of doubt on his participation at Roland Garros as well.