Rafael Nadal is undoubtedly the invincible champion of red-dirt. His achievements on the surface will probably remain unmatched by any active or retired player yet. Such is his dominance on this surface that literally no one is close to catching up with his statistics. He has won the French Open, which is the so-called culmination of the clay season, a record 13 times.

Ahead of his 14th French Open bid, Nike released the first look of the shoes that Nadal is going to wear. Even though recent occurrences have cast a shadow over Nadal’s clay season, the Spaniard will fight to make a comeback to clinch his 22nd major title.

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Injury might halt Rafael Nadal chances at French Open 2022

Rafael Nadal had the best start to 2022. He won the first tournament he took part in, at the Melbourne Summer Set. This was his first tournament after a long hiatus due to a foot injury. The Spaniard then went on to create history by becoming the first player ever in the ATP Circuit to win 21 Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open.

He then followed this feat by winning his 91st tour-level title at Acapulco. He even reached the finals at Indian Wells and seemed to be in great form till he suffered a stress-induced fracture to his rib.

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After the latest rib injury, Nadal announced that he will take some more time to recover and prepare his body. While he will be missing both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, we hope to see him back in form for the French Open at the very least.