(Tennis news) Rafael Nadal is defying his age at the moment, having already won two Grand Slams in the season so far. The 36 year old won his 14th French Open title last weekend after defeating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0. However, the Spaniard has remained coy about his participation at Wimbledon after struggling with a chronic foot injury. He said “I am going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss."

In an interview after winning the French Open, Nadal explained that he played Sunday’s final with a numb foot after taking injections for his chronic foot injury. The Spaniard has said that he will not go through the ordeal again in order to compete at Wimbledon and also shed light on the severity of the issue, which almost prompted him to retire after missing a significant portion of the 2021 season including Wimbledon, US Open and the Olympics.

Nadal said “Wimbledon is a priority, always has been a priority. If I'm able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes. To play with anaesthetic injections, I do not want to put myself in that position again. It can happen once but no, it's not the philosophy of life I want to follow. Let's see. I am always a positive guy and always expect things to go the right way. Let's be confident, let's be positive and let's see what's going on." 

Speaking about the path ahead, the Spaniard said “It's going to be a radio frequency injection on the nerve and trying to burn a little bit the nerve and create the impact that I have now on the nerve for a long period of time. That's what we are going to try. If that works, I'm going to keep going. If that does not work, then it's going to be another story. And then I am going to ask myself if I am ready to do a major thing without being sure that things are going the proper way, for example. A major surgery that doesn't guarantee me to be able to be competitive again and take a long time to be back [is a risk]. So let's do it step by step, as I did all my tennis career."

Also read: Rafael Nadal wins 14th Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam title