ATP Injury/ fitness thread

[Busted]

Nadal’s diagnosis will give a clearer picture of how he should proceed with regard to his schedule. One article mentioned he felt a sharp pain. That is usually indicative of a joint injury, which takes a long time to heal, as opposed to a muscular strain. We don’t yet know whether this episode is the same as the injury he suffered at AO. In any case, he shouldn’t continue playing a full schedule because as I said in another thread, every match requires more pounding on his aging body. In light of his knee problems, he should be more prudent about which tournaments he plays. Maybe he’ll finish his career the way he started — playing predominately on clay.

The other day I just happened to stumble across a story about how much golf Nadal plays and how competitive he is. He said people have said he's even more competitive on the golf course than the tennis court. And we all know how competitive he is on a tennis court. A few weeks after the AO he had some kind of charity golf event on Mallorca. IIRC it was a 2-3 day event. Golf is notoriously hard on the hips, thighs and back. Maybe he should consider not playing golf for the remainder of his tennis career. He pulled out of the AO with a thigh injury. Now he's pulled out of Acapulco with a hip injury. Surely all that torque on the back and hips from hitting golf balls isn't helping? I don't play golf so maybe someone who does knows the answer to that.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

So, three of big five will be missing sunshine.

Anyone know how is Nishioka doing? He gave some feisty performances early last year and became one of the players who was forced to take a long injury break. I think he came back at AO even though did not do quite well. I have not heard his name after that.

 

[Federberg]

The other day I just happened to stumble across a story about how much golf Nadal plays and how competitive he is. He said people have said he's even more competitive on the golf course than the tennis court. And we all know how competitive he is on a tennis court. A few weeks after the AO he had some kind of charity golf event on Mallorca. IIRC it was a 2-3 day event. Golf is notoriously hard on the hips, thighs and back. Maybe he should consider not playing golf for the remainder of his tennis career. He pulled out of the AO with a thigh injury. Now he's pulled out of Acapulco with a hip injury. Surely all that torque on the back and hips from hitting golf balls isn't helping? I don't play golf so maybe someone who does knows the answer to that.

hmmm... I play golf. I haven't had hip issues, so I can't speak to it. Lower back problems perhaps. But to a large extent it depends on one's competence. Generally speaking the better you are the more natural your swing tends to be, the less likely these things are to crop up. For me personally I have ankle issues, so I tend to use buggies a lot. But I do take your point. It's probably something he shouldn't be doing. Novak for instance is supposed to be a superb skier but avoids it. I wouldn't be shocked if Federer's the same. He is Swiss after all

 

[Moxie]

hmmm... I play golf. I haven't had hip issues, so I can't speak to it. Lower back problems perhaps. But to a large extent it depends on one's competence. Generally speaking the better you are the more natural your swing tends to be, the less likely these things are to crop up. For me personally I have ankle issues, so I tend to use buggies a lot. But I do take your point. It's probably something he shouldn't be doing. Novak for instance is supposed to be a superb skier but avoids it. I wouldn't be shocked if Federer's the same. He is Swiss after all

Nadal is considered essentially a scratch golfer, so he's very good. Like you say, I don't think it's really considered a dangerous sport. And I'm not sure when you learned that Novak was avoiding skiing, but up until a few years ago, he blatantly said he refused to give up skiing. That seems much more risky to me. And maybe he has given up by now.

EDIT: There is a video of him on skiing this time last year. This year, only of teaching his young son to ski, but he was at the slopes, so who knows?

 

[Moxie]

Related to Busted's post about Nadal golfing, I did want to post about how much some people blame Nadal for his injuries. This has been a trope for much of his career, and not just on forums. Sports writers have been looking for his style of play to shorten his career at least since 2009. Darth and others were poo-pooing that there's any bad luck involved, and Darth was trying to make some argument that Roger was actually more unlucky because his style is so efficient. However, they are professional athletes, and injuries are a part of what they do. Take the example of Richard Gasquet. His style is considered pretty efficient, much more on the Federer model, and yet he has had a lot of injuries in his career. Tsonga has likewise had a lot of injuries in his career, and I don't see anyone blaming him. Monfils catches a bit, but then people move on, because they don't care. But what about Ferrer? He plays a similar style to Nadal but has much less injury lay-off. Point being: Nadal trains hard to avoid injury. Yes, he plays hard, too. But he is a responsible professional athlete, and I don't think that he can be blamed for all of his injuries. Likewise, I do think Roger has been fairly blessed with good health. Even when he had mono, he had a mild form. Not the career-ending kind like Ancic or Soderling. I don't think it's a 1:1 as to how you play and how it effects how often you get injured, and it is my pet peeve that Fed fans spend so much time blaming Rafa for his.

 

[Federberg]

Nadal is considered essentially a scratch golfer, so he's very good. Like you say, I don't think it's really considered a dangerous sport. And I'm not sure when you learned that Novak was avoiding skiing, but up until a few years ago, he blatantly said he refused to give up skiing. That seems much more risky to me. And maybe he has given up by now.

EDIT: There is a video of him on skiing this time last year. This year, only of teaching his young son to ski, but he was at the slopes, so who knows?

Ah! I stand corrected then. Thought I read somewhere that he wasn't doing that anymore. I do know that back in the day he used to go on skiing holidays. He even went on one with Safin once I think

 

[Andy22]

I first said nadal should Skipp both India wells and Miami, but after thinking about It, Rafael nadal should play Miami. As practice for the clay court season, he has lot of time to get ready for the event.

 

[isabelle]

according to l'Equipe, Sir Andy could be back sooner that expected. he could train again at the end of march, rehab goes faster than the initial schedule, very happy of this good news

 

[Moxie]

Ah! I stand corrected then. Thought I read somewhere that he wasn't doing that anymore. I do know that back in the day he used to go on skiing holidays. He even went on one with Safin once I think

That wouldn't do wonders for his reputation.

 

[Federberg]

That wouldn't do wonders for his reputation.

lol! probably where he got his playboy reputation from. Learning from the Don

 

[Andy22]

Andy Murray being back for the F0 would be awesome.

 

[Andy22]

One of the reasons Federer does not get injured is he's to chicken to play on clay.

 

[Front242]

One of the reasons Federer does not get injured is he's to chicken to play on clay.

It's also one of the reasons he won Wimbledon so I think he'll take you calling him chicken with a pinch of salt. For the record, there are rumours Nadal may skip grass season this year so I hope you'll call him a chicken too if it happens.

 

[Moxie]

One of the reasons Federer does not get injured is he's to chicken to play on clay.

That was one season. And he was injured last year. The reason he doesn't get injured, imo, is that he has been unusually lucky for a professional athlete.

 

[bajana]

One of the reasons Federer does not get injured is he's to chicken to play on clay.

From 1998-2016 Federer played the clay season and its clay tournaments every bleeping year, for the first time missing the clay season last year.... but I expect you knew that

 

[bajana]

Nadal OUT of Indian Wells and Miami

Hola a todos. Lamentablemente me veo obligado a escribiros esto, pero se confirmaron mis peores presagios y al final la lesión que sufrí en el último entrenamiento en Acapulco antes de comenzar el torneo resulta ser en la misma zona que en Melbourne. No podré jugar en Indian Wells ni Miami y el objetivo ahora es recuperarme para estar a punto para la temporada de tierra batida. Si fue doloroso retirarme en Acapulco donde tantos fans tengo que siempre me apoyan, es también doloroso no estar con mis fans en Estados Unidos en esta gira americana de marzo que siempre ha sido importante. Os echaré de menos pero haré todo lo posible para estar de vuelta en 2019. Muchas gracias.

Hi everyone. Unfortunately, the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is in the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne. I won’t be able to play in Miami or Indian Wells as I need to recover. It was very painful to retire from Acapulco and it’s very hard as well to not play in the USA. I will miss you and I will do everything that’s possible to be back there in 2019. Thank you

 

[10isfan]

Nadal has a torn hip flexor. This type of injury heals in a month or so. He should be back to full health by Monte Carlo.

 

[Andy22]

Nadal OUT of Indian Wells and Miami

Hola a todos. Lamentablemente me veo obligado a escribiros esto, pero se confirmaron mis peores presagios y al final la lesión que sufrí en el último entrenamiento en Acapulco antes de comenzar el torneo resulta ser en la misma zona que en Melbourne. No podré jugar en Indian Wells ni Miami y el objetivo ahora es recuperarme para estar a punto para la temporada de tierra batida. Si fue doloroso retirarme en Acapulco donde tantos fans tengo que siempre me apoyan, es también doloroso no estar con mis fans en Estados Unidos en esta gira americana de marzo que siempre ha sido importante. Os echaré de menos pero haré todo lo posible para estar de vuelta en 2019. Muchas gracias.

Hi everyone. Unfortunately, the injury I suffered in Acapulco before starting the tournament is in the same area as the one suffered in Melbourne. I won’t be able to play in Miami or Indian Wells as I need to recover. It was very painful to retire from Acapulco and it’s very hard as well to not play in the USA. I will miss you and I will do everything that’s possible to be back there in 2019. Thank you

Yes this a great news for nadal fans it means he will not put his body though hard courts season, and be ready to collect a 11th FO.

 

[bajana]

Yes this a great news for nadal fans it means he will not put his body though hard courts season, and be ready to collect a 11th FO.

Strange fan - "great news" that Nadal is injured, since that is what has taken for him to miss IW and Miami. Passingly odd attitude

In the meantime, for the other Rafa fans - commiserations. Until you see him actually fit and on the clay, there must be some worry. Good luck.. know how that feels from Fed's end of 2016

 

[herios]

Yes this a great news for nadal fans it means he will not put his body though hard courts season, and be ready to collect a 11th FO.

I would be very worried if I was you.
Nadal's body seems to fall apart, in the last 4 months he has played only a handful of matches and he got injured 3 times. At this rate, he willl be a part time player.