As we await Rafa's return to the tour, I thought it would be interesting to recap. Let's go through all of his injuries from the start of his career. What I think one of the most admirable things about Rafa is his passion to compete after and during injuries. It makes his accomplishments even more fantastic, as he plays (and wins) through pain.
2003- Elbow injury forces him to skip the French Open.
2004- Rafa suffered a stress fracture in his left ankle, which caused him to miss the spring clay court season, including Roland Garros.
2005- Foot injury meant he couldn't play the Tennis Masters Cup (Now the ATP Finals). He also missed the Australian Open in 2006.
2006- Shoulder injury occurred during a match at Queens Club again Lleyton Hewitt. Rafa had to retire.
2007- A right knee injury occurred during a Wimbledon match. This caused difficulty in the second half of the year. Rumours emerged that the foot injury he suffered in 2005 was more serious than expected, but luckily, they were false.
2008- Tendinitis of the right knee forced Rafa to withdraw from the Masters Cup again. The injury flared up during a match at Paris Masters, where he had to retire. Rafa also had to withdraw from the Davis Cup.
2009- During the final of Rotterdam against Murray, Rafa called a trainer on court to assist with a right knee tendon injury. This affected his play in the final set. It was not related to the previous knee injury, but he still had to withdraw from Dubai. Right after his only French Open defeat he withdrew from Queens, Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. Rafa was now suffering from tendinitis in both knees.
2010- Rafa retired during his QF match at the Australian Open, as his knees were causing pain. He then took 2 weeks of rest.
2011- He suffered a foot injury during Wimbledon and rested for a month before returning to the tour for the Rogers Cup. During the US Open, Rafa had his infamous muscle cramp drama in a press conference.
2012 to 2013- He withdrew from the Miami Masters once he reached the semi finals, with knee problems. After the 2nd round exit at Wimbledon, Rafa withdrew from the 2012 Olympics. He then continued to withdraw from competitions for 7 months, his longest ever injury break. He dropped out of the top 4 in the rankings for the first time since 2005.
2013- Rafa made his return to the tour at the VTR Open in Chile, where he lost in the final. He then won a title in Acapulco, the start of his incredible comeback. He went on to win 10 tournaments in 2013, including the French and US Open.
2014- Rafa injured his back during the warm up to the Australian Open Final, against Stan Wawrinka. The match was agonising to watch, but Rafa carried on to the end, refusing to retire. What a guy. The back injury forced all sorts of losses. He was not completely tape free or pain free until later on in the year. He still had tape on in the early rounds of Roland Garros, which he went on to win. In July, Rafa injured his right wrist in practice. He withdrew from Toronto and Cincinnati immediately, and then went on to withdraw from the US Open. He was defending champion is all three North American tournaments. Rafa was diagnosed with appendicitis in Shanghai, we are waiting to see exactly what the illness entails, a appendix removal is a possibility.
Well, that definitely brought back memories. Rafa has suffered with injuries throughout his entire career, thats what makes his achievements so mind-blowing. I hope you found this interesting. Thank you for reading.
@rafanadaladdict
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