Uncertainties and concerns around Rafael Nadal, two weeks before Roland Garros

In the era of social networks that speculate more than they inform, a forty-five-second video with an uncertain context stirred the small world of the yellow ball beyond measure. We see Rafael Nadal with his head against a fence then his hands on his knees, under the gaze of his coaches, Carlos Moya and Marc Lopez, and Joan Nadal, his cousin, with whom he was training that day on a clay court from his academy to Manacor. After fifteen seconds without a gesture or a movement, the Spaniard straightened up and walked slowly towards his chair. The scene, filmed on Wednesday, ends there and leaves room for all interpretations. Most, alarmists, drew a probable package of “Rafa” at Roland-Garros. The reality would be less dark.

Pain but not in the psoas

According to a witness, Nadal would have indeed felt pain, but not in the psoas, the injury which has kept him away from the circuit since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open against Mackenzie McDonald (6-4, 6-4, 7 -5), on January 18 in Melbourne. The player, who will turn 37 on June 3, would have sat down for ten minutes before resuming the session with a series of slices. He would then no longer have felt anything abnormal and would even have given a high intensity at the end of the training.

Fifteen days before the start of Roland-Garros, uncertainty remains around the presence of the king of ocher, titled fourteen times Porte d’Auteuil. Successively forfeited in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, Nadal recognized that his injury was taking much longer than expected to heal. “Initially it was supposed to be a six to eight week recovery period and we are now at fourteen”, he explained on social networks in April. Until recently, the few videos circulating during his sessions showed a player more lively in his movements, but not enough to play training matches.

Asked Thursday in Rome about a possible absence of his biggest rival in Paris, Djokovic said: “Everyone wants to see him there. I would like him to play, it’s better to have the best players in the world, the challenge would only be greater. I saw videos, he trains, he tries to prepare. I’m out of place, I don’t know how he feels, but I’m sure he’s doing his best to be there. »