Rafael Nadal statue in Manacor
Rafael Nadal will miss Wimbledon 2023 due to his prolonged injury – a statue of him was recently unveiled in Manacor
Rafael Nadal attended the unveiling of his own statue in his hometown of Manocor, Mallorca. Nadal had approved the construction of this statue back in 2021 – it’s now finally complete and available for public viewing.
This commemorative statue honours Nadal for his incredible achievements over the years and for his contributions to the growth of the town. Nadal notably launched his own tennis academy in Manocor in 2016 and it continues to transform the lives of all Tennis enthusiasts and young players in the region.
Nadal grew up in Mallorca and his wife ‘Mery’ is also from the same place. The Spanish legend is a ‘Mallorcan’ through and through. He is a lifelong supporter of his local club RCD Mallorca besides Real Madrid. It is nothing but appropriate that there is a statue in honour of Nadal in his hometown.
The unveiling ceremony was attended by Nadal himself in the company of members of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy, relatives and friends of Nadal who did not want to miss the moment. This is Nadal’s second public statue – the first one is located at the entrance of Roland Garros venue.
Rafael Nadal has been out of action with a hip injury since the Australian Open earlier this year. He was expected to make a comeback during the clay-court season but the injury has forced him to skip the clay-court season altogether. The 22-time Grand Slam Champion hasn’t played a match since his second round loss at the Australian Open and subsequently withdrew from prestigious events such as the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, Barcelona Open, the Madrid Open and most recently the French Open. He is now out of the Wimbledon Championships as well and a return before 2024 looks unlikely. Nadal is patiently waiting for a full recovery before coming back but it’s not certain when he will eventually be able to play.
The 22-time Grand Slam Champion slipped out of the top 100 of the men’s singles rankings for the first time since April, 2003 because of his absence from multiple events and it just keeps getting worse. Fans are desperate to watch the Spaniard back in action but it is uncertain when the Spaniard will be able to make a full-fledged return. However, it is important that Nadal returns to action only after a complete recovery as a hurried return could very well cause a freak long-term injury and make things more difficult.
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