Rafael Nadal has moved to ease concerns about his injury problems ahead of the French Open, posting a picture of himself training in full flow at his academy in Mallorca with the caption: “See you on Wednesday, Paris.”
The 13-time Roland Garros champion had said last week that daily training was a challenge and he would take a doctor with him to Paris after a chronic foot injury flared up during his defeat to Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open.
Nadal, 35, who only recently returned from a stress fracture in one of his left ribs, struggled toward the end of his match against the Canadian as he went down 1-6 7-5 6-2 in the last 16.
But the world No. 5 looks poised to launch another bid for a Grand Slam title at his favourite hunting ground, having won his 21st major at the Australian Open earlier this year.
That victory followed a difficult 2021 during which he missed Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the US Open.
Nadal will be attempting to reclaim the title in Paris after he suffered a semifinal defeat last year against Novak Djokovic, only his third career loss at Roland Garros.