This story is from June 06, 2022
Rafael Nadal admits 'I can't keep going like this' but looking for solution
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Nadal captured a 14th French Open and 22nd
Grand Slam
title with a straight sets win over Casper Ruud at Roland Garros but said his future in the sport remains in doubt."It's obvious that with circumstances that I am playing, I can't and I don't want to keep going, so the mindset is very clear. I'm going to keep working to try to find a solution and an improvement for what's happening in the foot," said the 36-year-old.
Nadal revealed he needed pain-killing injections in his left foot before every match and will undergo treatment again this week back in Spain.
Rafael Nadal regained his aura of invincibility on clay on Sunday by brutally crushing Casper Ruud to lift the French Open trophy for an incredible 14th time and widen the gap at the top of the men's all-time list of Grand Slam winners. (AP Photo)
Norwegian Ruud became the latest victim in a long line of challengers who have unsuccessfully tried to defeat the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final since Nadal won his maiden title on the red clay in 2005. (Getty Images)
There was a sense of deja vu as the Spaniard, who turned 36 on Friday, completed a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 thrashing on a balmy afternoon in Paris to maintain his 100% success rate in the championship round at the claycourt major. (Getty Images)
Despite all the trials and tribulations he suffered in the build-up, no one could prevent Nadal from lifting the Musketeers' Cup for a record-extending 14th time. (Getty Images)
The win means Nadal is now halfway through the calendar Grand Slam for the first time in his career after also winning the year's opening major at the Australian Open. (Getty Images)
Nadal passed fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men's singles champion. The result once again demonstrated that even when he is less than 100% fit, he is still a mountain too steep to conquer on the red clay of Roland Garros. (Getty Images)
The win also gave Nadal a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title and put him two clear of world number one Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Swiss Roger Federer in the men's race for the most major titles. (Getty Images)
Nadal and Ruud had never played a competitive match before Sunday, but they have hit together plenty of times at the Spaniard's academy in Mallorca and Ruud earlier said he has never won a practice set against his idol. That record remained unchanged on Sunday. (Getty Images)
Nadal, who is 13 years older than Ruud, made a blistering start as he raced to a 2-0 lead with a superb forehand passing shot securing him the first break of the match. (Reuters Photo)
Nadal's vicious top-spin forehand soon found its range and he started applying pressure to Ruud's backhand to secure a break and canter to a 4-1 lead before securing the opening set. (AFP Photo)
"If it works, I keep going. If not, it will be another story and I will ask myself if I am ready to do a major surgery which may not guarantee I will be competitive and may take a long time to be back."
Nadal said that taking anaesthetic injections in the nerves in his foot was the only way he could have got through the tournament.
Nadal said he intends to play Wimbledon where he is a two-time champion and gets underway in three weeks' time.
"I'm going to be in Wimbledon if my body is ready to be in Wimbledon. That's it. Wimbledon is not a tournament that I want to miss," he said.
"I love Wimbledon. So if you ask me if I will be in Wimbledon, I can't give you a clear answer. Let's see how the treatment works."
If the treatment works and he can survive with anti-inflammatories and not anaesthetic, he will be at the All England Club having sat out the tournament last year.
"If I am able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes; to play with anaesthetic injections, no. I don't want to put myself in that position again."
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