LONDON, July 8 — Rafael Nadal pulled out of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury on Thursday after Ons Jabeur became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final in modern times.
Two-time champion Nadal was visibly in pain during his gruelling five-set win against American Taylor Fritz on Wednesday and indicated afterwards that he may not be able to continue.reported that Nadal had a “seven-millimetre” tear to his abdomen but still intended to play. The 22-time Grand Slam champion was given pain relief during the contest and had a medical time-out in the second set, admitting his father and sister had been gesticulating for him to quit.The Spaniard, who said he had had an issue with his abdominal muscles for the past week, admitted he had been struggling with what decision to make all day.
He said he expected the injury to take up to four weeks to heal but that he would be able to practise from the baseline in a week’s time.Earlier, Jabeur defeated close friend Tatjana Maria in the semi-finals and will play Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s championship match. Before Thursday, South Africans Irene Bowder Peacock, at the 1927 French Open, and Renee Schuurman, in the 1959 Australian Open, were the only African women to have reached a Slam singles final, before the Open era.“I want to see more Arab and African players on the tour. I love the game and I want to share the experience with them.” Rybakina overpowered Halep, breaking the Romanian four times in a dominant display on Centre Court.
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