MADRID: Rafael Nadal’s keyhole surgery on his injured hip was “positive” but he will require a five-month recovery period before playing again, his spokesman said Saturday.
The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday, could in theory be back in time for the Davis Cup finals in November.
However, it is likely he will sit out the rest of the season before resuming in 2024 which he has already said will be the last year of his career.
“The surgery was positive,” said his spokesman of the procedure which was carried out in Barcelona.
“The normal recovery process is estimated at five months.”
Nadal said last month that the hip injury had not healed as well as he had hoped and therefore he was taking more time out of the sport.
The Spaniard missed the ongoing French Open, which he has won 14 times, for the first time since 2004.
He will also sit out Wimbledon, where he is a two-time champion, next month.
Nadal had hoped the injury he suffered in a second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January would heal in six weeks.
While he recovers, old rival Novak Djokovic has the chance to break out of the tie for 22 majors by winning a third French Open.
On Friday, Djokovic reached the last 16 in Paris for the 14th successive year and will face Juan Pablo Virallas, the 94th-ranked Peruvian, on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.
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He has 16 career ATP titles although the last came in Geneva in 2017.
Wawrinka reached a high of third in the world in 2014, but he has struggled with injuries in past years and is now ranked 157th.
His 582 tour-level wins are fourth most among active players, just behind Gael Monfils, who also plans to retire at the end of next year.
Wawrinka won Olympic gold in doubles alongside Federer at Beijing in 2008 and helped deliver a first Davis Cup triumph for Switzerland in 2014.
He is due to begin his final season in Perth at the United Cup, which starts on January 2.
Nadal faces ‘five months recovery’ after keyhole surgery on hip
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Nadal faces ‘five months recovery’ after keyhole surgery on hip
- The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Saturday, could in theory be back in time for the Davis Cup finals in November
- Nadal said last month that the hip injury had not healed as well as he had hoped and therefore he was taking more time out of the sport
Three-time Grand Slam winner Wawrinka to retire in 2026
- “It’s time to write the final chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on tour,” Wawrinka posted Friday
- His 582 tour-level wins are fourth most among active players
PARIS: Stan Wawrinka says the 2026 season will be his last as the three-time Grand Slam singles champion aims to finish his career “on the best note possible.”
“Every book needs an ending. It’s time to write the final chapter of my career as a professional tennis player. 2026 will be my last year on tour,” Wawrinka posted Friday on social media.
Wawrinka, who turns 41 in March, won the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open a year later and the US Open in 2016, at a time when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were dominating men’s tennis.
He has 16 career ATP titles although the last came in Geneva in 2017.
Wawrinka reached a high of third in the world in 2014, but he has struggled with injuries in past years and is now ranked 157th.
His 582 tour-level wins are fourth most among active players, just behind Gael Monfils, who also plans to retire at the end of next year.
Wawrinka won Olympic gold in doubles alongside Federer at Beijing in 2008 and helped deliver a first Davis Cup triumph for Switzerland in 2014.
He is due to begin his final season in Perth at the United Cup, which starts on January 2.
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