After skipping the Wimbledon Championships and the Tokyo Olympic Games due to an injury, Rafael Nadal will return to tennis at the Citi Open as the number one seed. When he announced his decision to skip the two big events back in June, he had chosen to stay quiet about the reasons for the same.

However, Nadal has now revealed that a particular injury in his foot forced him to stay away from the court. In fact, he went 20 days without picking up the tennis racquet.

Rafael Nadal playing the year through a wearied body

Nadal picked up an injury in February earlier this year, as he experienced back issues at the Australian Open. After a concerning beginning to his 2021, the Spaniard had enough time to recover after exiting from the Grand Slam event. The 20-time Grand Slam winner was on road to recovery for the clay-court season.

However, Nadal’s dream of having a successful season on his favorite surface did not go according to his plans. Even though the Spaniard won two titles on clay, Barcelona and Rome, he could not retain his French Open title. He lost out to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and decided to take a break form tennis in order to recuperate his body. Later, a foot injury forced him to stay off the court.

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“I need to find again the level of tennis I need to be competitive. I hope to be able to find that in Washington. If not, hopefully in the next few weeks.

“I had some issues with my foot. I had to stop playing tennis for 20 days. Then I start practising, half an hour, then a little bit more. I went through the whole process,” said Nadal ahead of his first game at the Citi Open.

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Rafa back in the US capital to begin preparations for the US Open

On Wednesday, August 3, Nadal will play his first game since the French Open defeat against Djokovic. In order to make his chances even at the US Open, Nadal needs to create an impact at the Citi Open.

Can Nadal find his rhythm back before the commencement of the US Open?

The number one seed will play his first game on Wednesday after getting a bye in the first round. He created a buzz around him after drawing the crowd in during his practice session at the Stadium Court. However, he needs to win the tournament in order to have realistic chances at the US Open.

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