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Rafael Nadal's Australian Open Appearance In Doubt After Catching Covid-19

Rafael Nadal's Australian Open Appearance In Doubt After Catching Covid-19

The Spaniard has confirmed he is currently isolating at home, meaning he could miss one of the biggest dates on the tennis calendar.

Max Sherry

Max Sherry

Rafael Nadal is the latest high-profile athlete to test positive for Covid-19 and it means he could miss one of the biggest dates on the tennis calendar.

The Spaniard has confirmed he is currently isolating at home after catching the virus, which has cast huge doubt as to whether he'll fly to Melbourne for the Australian Open in January.

Tennis fan favourite Nadal took to social media to provide an update on his situation.

"Both in Kuwait and Abu Dhabi we passed controls every two days and all were negative, the last being on Friday and having the results on Saturday," he said in an Instagram post.

"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.

"As a consequence of the situation, I have to have total flexibility with my calendar and I will analyse my options depending on my evolution.

"I will keep you informed of any decisions about my future tournaments!"

Although it is yet to be confirmed, Nadal's absence would be a massive blow to Australian Open officials as his popularity Down Under is unprecedented.

Alamy

To add to that, there is also a growing list of big-name men's players who are already set to miss the tournament too.

Roger Federer is out with a knee injury, Stan Wawrinka is sidelined with a foot issue and Dominic Thiem is still reportedly battling illness.

Then, of course, there's the uncertainty surrounding Novak Djokovic and his Covid-19 vaccine stance.

Meanwhile, the female stars are dropping like flies as well.

Last year's Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady is struggling with a foot strain, Karolina Pliskova's hand is still giving her strife and Serena Williams is out with a hamstring injury.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Tennis, Tennis news, Rafael Nadal, Australian Open, Australia, Covid-19