Nadal ready for French Open despite injury issues

Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 12, 2022 Spain's Rafael Nadal leaves court after losing his third round match against Canada's Denis Shapovalov REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

A persistent foot injury had raised questions on whether Rafael Nadal would be able to compete in Paris, but he has now confirmed that he will play the French Open.

Rafael Nadal is currently training in full-flow in preparation for the French open, after raising concerns that his injury may put his participation in doubt.

In a recent Instagram post, the 35-year old confirmed his participation in the French Open with a picture of himself training at his academy in Mallorca captioned: "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 by Denis Shapovalov at the Italian Open.

Nadal only recently returned from a stress fracture in the ribs, struggling towards the end of his match against the Canadian as he went down in the last-16.

But the world number five looks poised to launch another bid for a Grand Slam title after winning 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 U.S. Open.

Nadal will be attempting to reclaim the title in Paris after he suffered a semi-final defeat last year against world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic, only his third career loss at Roland Garros.

(Reuters)