Tennis star Rafael Nadal is feeling the pain that can come with age. Nadal is leaving his status for the 2024 Australian Open in the air following an injury to his hip, per Sports Illustrated. Nadal spoke about the injury after he bowed out of the Brisbane International with a loss in a match on Friday.

 

Nadal had previously had surgery on his hip, but is hoping that he can compete in the Australian Open. He pointed to his muscles bothering him following his performance in Brisbane.

“I hope to have the chance to be practicing next week and to play in Melbourne,” Nadal said, per Sports Illustrated. “Honestly, I am not 100 percent sure of anything now.”

Nadal explained when speaking to the press following his loss in Brisbane that he's feeling pain in the same area where he had surgery done before.

“It's not the same like last year at all because when it happened last year, I felt something drastic immediately,” Nadal added. “Today I didn't feel anything. The only problem is because the place is the same, you're a little bit more scared.”

It didn't seem as if Nadal was hurting if you watched him at Brisbane. Nadal had some success, hustling his way into the quarterfinals. Nadal suffered defeat at the hands of Jordan Thompson after failing to take three match points. At one point, he also received a code violation for taking too long of a break during a match against Jason Kubler.

Rafael Nadal is a 22-time Grand Slam champion. His career is one of the best the world of tennis has ever seen. Fans are surely hoping that Nadal will be in the field at the Australian Open.