SUMMARY
- Rafael Nadal is set to miss the Australian Open.
- Fans think there could be more to Nadal's injury.
Rafael Nadal finally made a comeback to tennis at Brisbane International after a long injury layoff. Unfortunately, Nadal’s resurgent run has been cut short, and he is set to miss the Australian Open once again. This is a difficult time for the Spaniard, but a lot of fans think there is more to this story. Many believe there might be a correlation between Nadal and WADA investigating Spain’s anti-doping agency.
Rafa injured his psoas muscle at Melbourne Park last year. He underwent arthroscopic surgery to fix the issue, and after months of rehabilitation, he returned to the court. Nadal picked up where he had left off last year, playing brilliantly to make it to the quarterfinals.
Rafa locked horns with Jordan Thompson on January 5. He seemed on course to win the match, but tragedy struck. Finally, Nadal took to social media to announce that he was withdrawing from the Australian Open.
BREAKING:
Rafa Nadal will miss the 2024 Australian Open due to a micro terror in his muscle.
“I have worked very hard during the year for this comeback and as I always mentioned my goal is to be at my best level in 3 months.
Within the sad news for me for not being able to… pic.twitter.com/olZeMMQvBH— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 7, 2024
Nadal’s put on a show against Thompson. However, he frightened everyone when he took a medical timeout in the third set. Rafa had his doubts after the match, and now the worst has come to pass.
While many fans are saddened to hear the news of his withdrawal, a lot of fans think there is more to it. A lot of fans think Nadal is returning to Spain due to the ongoing anti-doping investigations.
Just play RG and Wimbledon and call it a year.
— Warriors | Saby 🐯 (@1503PS) January 7, 2024
We all know the real reason why he’s withdrawinghttps://t.co/bhQG4Uz4rW
— Bishal (@bishalc004) January 7, 2024
These are just speculations on the part of fans. So far in his career, Rafael Nadal has never been linked with or done anything untoward to question his integrity.
Allegations on Spain’s Anti-doping Agency by WADA
Spain’s anti-doping agency, CELAD, has come under fire recently. Reports suggest that there might be something sinister being done by CELAD. The World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, has finally spoken up on this issue.
CELAD has been lax when it comes to finding a positive result and informing the athlete in question. The anti-doping agency has also been allegedly hiding the retroactive approval of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE). TUEs are given to athletes who need medication that might contain banned substances.
WADA has been accused of turning a blind eye to such malpractices by the CELAD. The governing body finally refuted these claims. “WADA strongly rejects the implication that it would ever turn a blind eye to any valid cases,” reads the statement.
Spain’s anti-doping legislation is cause for concern since it does not adhere to the WADA code. So far, CELAD’s handling of cases has been a disappointment. Hopefully, the anti-doping body can fix the error soon.