Nadal withdraws from Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP):

Rafael Nadal withdrew from the Australian Open with an injury a week before the season’s first major was due to start after playing just one tournament in his comeback from 12 months on the sidelines.

Nadal said he had concerns over his surgically repaired hip after needing a medical time-out in the third set of his Brisbane International quarterfinal loss to Jordan Thompson on Friday.

The 22-time major winner initially said it seemed like more of a muscular problem than the tendon issue that caused him so much pain this time last year.

But he posted on social media Sunday that scans after he arrived in Melbourne revealled a small tear in the muscle and he was flying back to Spain for treatment.

“Hi all, during my last match in Brisbane I had a small problem on a muscle that as you know made me worried,” Nadal said on X, formerly Twitter. “Once I got to Melbourne I have had the chance to make an MRI and I have micro tear on a muscle, not in the same part where I had the injury and that’s good news.

“Right now I am not ready to compete at the maximum level. I’m flying back to Spain to see my doctor, get some treatment and rest.”

Nadal’s latest injury setback comes after being away from the court for almost a year and having surgery on his troublesome hip in June. The former top-ranked player also had a history of knee and foot issues that many thought would threaten his ability to remain on the tour for as long as he has.

But Nadal’s latest comeback looked promising as he won his first two competitive matches in a year before losing to Thompson. He wasted three match points in the second set with uncharacteristic errors in his quarterfinal before losing in three.

The 37-year-old Spaniard opened the tournament with straight-sets wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler, but was pushed for 3 hours and 25 minutes by Thompson in what was his third match in four nights.

Nadal was playing on a wild card in Brisbane, but had a protected ranking for the Australian Open that would have given him a start in the 128-player main draw.

The Australian Open is due to start January 14 at Melbourne Park, with No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic – who has a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles – favourite to win.