Rafael Nadal's knees showing wear and tear of his clay-court dominance

Rafael Nadal was the man of the moment just a few months ago, from Australia to Paris. It appeared as if the tennis gods had blessed him with everything he could ever want. 

But was everything so heavenly? In and out, back-to-back, he played on and on and on. Sometimes, he was masterfully striking. Sometimes, he made his body slog for his accomplishments.

He played, he won, he conquered.

And then came the clay season -- the time when Rafa turns master, his dominance of the surface so emphatic that he offers no leeway to any rival. Even the mighty Roger Federer couldn't stop him.

Rafa was invincible.

And this is where the dream started to flicker. The number of clay court tournaments Rafa packed into his schedule not even a recently turned pro could have managed to accommodate.

Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Rome and Madrid -- four tournaments as preparation for the "grand" Roland Garros.

It was unnecessary. His knees were still reeling from a lot of strain and there he was playing in all these tournaments, which meant two months of continuous, strenuous pressure, even though it was on his beloved surface.

As much as his knees were tortured, he tortured them even the more by winning three out of the four tournaments, finishing as a finalist in the fourth.

Who makes these decisions for him is unknown. But even common knowledge would tell you that playing four clay events for a person who is undoubtedly the best clay courter at the moment is blatantly foolish.

And what purpose did it serve? He lost in Paris and his overwrought knees have ended up getting inflamed again. His website quotes him as saying that he played most of the past months in complete agony and pain.

What was Rafa thinking?

-- Rohini Iyer

Photo: Rafael Nadal returns a ball to Robin Soderling during the French Open on May 31. Credit: Bertrand Guay / AFP / Getty Images

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Comments

[NV]

Obviously, this writer doesn't know what has been happening in tennis for the last 3-4 years. The stellar clay court seasons Rafa has been having for the last few years kept his no 2 position in tact, and last year with added success on grass and hard court made him clinch the no 1. If not for his clay court success, he would have been out of top 5.
So what was Rafa thinking?? He was thinking to defend the ton of points which he has on clay to make sure he ends up no 1 again at the end of the season. Remember , he has played all these tournaments in the past, did well in them and then won the french open as well. Only this time he didn't win the french open.
Clay is one of the surfaces which is easy on the knees,other being grass.If he has knee issues, he should be cutting down on the hard court tournaments, not clay. Even by missing Madrid, he could have still lost to soderling as it was really soderling's day when everything was working for him and Nadal was on the run all the time.

Anyways, I think when one is winning all the time, one tends to ignore pains and aches and plays through them. But when one starts losing, that would be the time the pains/aches get highlighted.And as a player it would be the best time to address these issues as well.Which is exactly what Rafa is doing and I would definitely expect him to come back strong at wimby.

[arun]

ohh come on ROHINI.... be a sport..Nadal is a boon for tennis and his rivallary with Federer has bought new fans to tennis and improved the standard in tennis.His extreme western grip with the vicious spin on his forhand requires a full body movement from his forarms,spine,knee till his arms land up right on his head.He is also a very quick mover around the court and with so much tennis played these days its quite natural for him to develop tedonitis.We all knpow he is not going to last forever lets enjoy the moments of this humble tennis gladator till he sparks.

Vamos

Arun

[Noreen Heverin]

It's not just Rafa's knee tendenitis, he also has a hairline fracture in left foot. He's had knee pain and problems for quite some time. He's played with / and through this pain for over two years now. Rafa doesn't seem to be the type of personality to moan and constantly talk about his physical ailments. He also doesn't quit during a match if he is in pain, he might get treatment if it gets too painful, but he never quits during a match. So why all the hype. His injury has become overwhelming. This is not his fault. So Soderling played above himself during his match with Rafa at the FO; but on the other hand, Rafa played terrible. How often does Rafa play that bad. How many scenarios have we ever seen with Rafa playing like that AND at the French Open no less -- you've got it!! NONE. I think he was hurting during that match, was in pain, lost his focus, as well as his concentration and bad enough not to be able to recover or fight back, etc. He surely would never admit to having pain during his press release. He never would have and he didn't. So now he's under doctor's care for his knee problems and pulled out of Queens because. So --Federer pulled out of Halle citing exhaustion from playing Madrid and the French Open. Last year Rafa won the FO, went to Queens, won that, went to Wimbledon and won that. Oh but it's fine for Federer to pull out of Halle, no one even mentions that. Well I think Rafa should begin pulling out of some of these Master Events more often. Maybe then, and only then will he give himself a chance to really heal. So Everyone Stop Getting On Rafa's Case. He's not A Moaner, or a Cry Baby, when he's hurting and says he's hurting it's because he really is. Signed - Someone who sees things for what they are.

[Jill]

Is Rafa gonna make Wimbleton?!? Those poor (Beautiful) knees!!

[san]

I agree with main theme of the article. Basically, The best on clay by far, does not need 4 Major intense clay court events wihin almost 6 weeks time window to prepare for the Grand Slam of Roland Garros.....especially after a terrific start to the season by WInning the fisrt grand of the year. Indeed, the kind of heights Rafa had already reached in the first quarter of the year, his sole focus from that point on should have been the grand events and Master's events only (plus may be a few here & there like preparing on grass etc.). I don't think he should have been in Bareclona this year for example....
So it might be be safe to say that Rafa (or his team & schedule related decision makers) himself blew a great chance to create history by going 5 in a row at RG. Now, who knows whether anyone will even come close to do 5 in a row at RG (even for Rafa it will be diificult to take 5 in a row all over again starting at age of 24 years next rear and continuing to win each RG upto age 28.....or he just might, who knows!!).
What also makes it rather crazy sounding is the statement from Rafa camp that he has been playing in pain for last few months (!!!), very reason why he should have skipped 1 or 2 of the smaller clay court events and be fresher and stronger at RG.

[RZ]

I've had similar thoughts for the last few years. In the past, Rafa has made it through the first half of the year, but didn't fare so well on the hard courts. Now that he's taken that step forward and is doing better all year round, it's adding a lot more wear-and-tear on his body. He plays such a physical game of tennis that all that extra pounding is adding up. I just hope he and his team can come up with a schedule that lets him play year round. It'd be a real shame if he can't defend his Wimbledon title due to injury, and a bigger shame if he'd have to cut his career short. The Nadal-Federer rivalry is the best thing to happen to tennis (heck, sports!) in years and I'd love to see it go on as long as possible.

[ares]

Rafa is a great player! But he shd start applying tactics to end the point sooner (rather wearing his opponent physically), thereby keeping his health in top notch for longer period. This will help him achieve greater things (not to forget how much he achieved so far) in a short span of time.

[Burt]

Rafa is my idol! He's no cry baby and has the gots to make it to Wimby and defend his title for sure! And that's on top of being the my clay court idol. News of his tendonitis and left foot fracture is just being exagerated.
Roy

[Vijay D]

Where were Rafa's knees when he whipped Lleyton Hewitt with the loss of only 4 games? Here were his comments after the match: ""For sure it was my best match here so far,'' Nadal said. "I felt much better today and a win against Lleyton is always a great win. It was an amazing result.'' Amazing what losing does for one's injuries eh?