Rafael Nadal contracts COVID-19

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Rafael Nadal tested positive for COVID-19 after making his return at the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition event in Abu Dhabi several days ago.

The world no. 6 ranked tennis player in the men’s division received his result upon arrival in Spain from his Abu Dhabi flight.

“I wanted to announce that on my return home after playing the Abu Dhabi tournament, I have tested positive for COVID in the PCR test that has been performed on me when I arrived in Spain,” Nadal posted on his Twitter account.

Nadal confirmed that all of his COVID-19 tests on his trip to Abu Dhabi and stop-over in Kuwait were all negative, the reason why he was able to grace the prestigious tournament.

It was a memorable participation for the 35-year-old tennis legend as it marked his return to a formal tournament after being out with a foot injury for four months.

However, Nadal failed to make it into the grand finals and suffered losses from former Grand Slam champion Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov.

“I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little. I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me,” Nadal added.

Before contracting the virus, Nadal was already unsure of joining the first Grand Slam of 2022 in Australia but is still targeting the remaining three: Wimbledon, French Open, and the US Open.