What Rafael Nadal’s Wrist Injury Means for Wimbledon 2016

Rafael Nadal exited the 2016 French Open earlier than expected, withdrawing prior to his third-round match against Marcel Granollers due to a wrist injury.  

Nadal announced his injury in a short post on his official Facebook page:

Christopher Clarey of the New York Times reported Nadal’s injury is an inflamed tendon sheath in his left wrist, but there is no tear. 

The 29-year-old hasn’t advanced past the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament since winning the 2014 French Open. Even when he was dealing with health issues in 2012 and 2013, Nadal was still capable of turning it on at Roland Garros, having won the French Open in both years. Now, he can no longer count on that luxury. 

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Wertheim explained some of the factors that have pointed to Nadal’s steady downturn:

In the case of Nadal, his declining confidence is apparent in all kinds of ways. You see earmarks (especially on clay, where those marks serve as forensic evidence) that his shots are not penetrating the court, that his positioning is passive. You see it on the stat sheet, too. Reader Rohit Sudarshan noted: “It was a tough South American trip for Rafa Nadal. The problem is twofold; he’s showing vulnerability to lower ranked players, and he’s struggling to win decisive points/deciding sets. From 2013 to 2014, 21% of his matches went to deciding sets but he won 83% of those matches. Since the start of 2015, 30% of his matches end in deciding sets, but he’s winning just 57% of those matches.”

Unless Nadal radically changes his playing style, the end will come much more swiftly for him than it has for Roger Federer. So much of Nadal’s game is predicated on his insane physical conditioning. The older he gets, the harder it will be to …

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