(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis star, announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus in Spain on Monday after returning from an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Nadal, a former No. 1 and one of the greatest players in the sport’s long history, shares the men’s record with 20 Grand Slam singles titles. But because he missed most of the second half of the 2021 season because of a chronic problem with his left foot, he played only 29 matches.
His positive test casts doubt on whether he will return to the circuit next month for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of 2022.
“I am having some unpleasant moments but am counting on feeling better bit by bit,” he said in a post on Twitter in Spanish on Monday. He added: “As a consequence of the situation, I have to maintain total flexibility with my schedule, and I will analyze my options depending on how my situation evolves.”
