Nadal Tests Injury in Front of Packed French Open Stands

Painful exit: Rafael Nadal leaves the court in Rome last week Andreas SOLARO AFP/File
Painful exit: Rafael Nadal leaves the court in Rome last week Andreas SOLARO AFP/File
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Nadal Tests Injury in Front of Packed French Open Stands

Painful exit: Rafael Nadal leaves the court in Rome last week Andreas SOLARO AFP/File
Painful exit: Rafael Nadal leaves the court in Rome last week Andreas SOLARO AFP/File

Rafael Nadal tested out his injured foot in his first practice at the French Open on Wednesday without any obvious discomfort.

Nadal, the 13-time champion at Roland Garros, delighted fans who packed two sides of the 15,000-capacity Court Philippe Chatrier in the baking Paris sun, AFP said.

Welcomed by the watching Stefanos Tsitsipas, the world number four who was runner-up at the tournament in 2021, Nadal hit with Spanish compatriot Jaume Munar.

It was the 35-year-old Nadal's first public appearance since suffering a recurrence of a chronic foot injury in his Italian Open third round loss to Denis Shapovalov last week.

"I'm not injured, I am a player living with an injury. That's it," Nadal told reporters in Rome.

"It's something that is there unfortunately and my day by day is difficult. I am trying hard but of course it is difficult for me. A lot of days I can't practice."

On Wednesday, Nadal gave no indication that the effects of the injury had followed him to the French capital as he practiced for two hours.

The Spanish star, chasing a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title, will learn his first round opponent in Thursday's draw.

Nadal, defeated in the semi-finals by eventual champion Novak Djokovic 12 months ago, has an astonishing record of 105 victories against just three losses at the tournament since his title-winning debut in 2005.

The French Open gets underway on Sunday.



Swiatek: Losing at French Open Lifted the Pressure for Wimbledon

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her semi final match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her semi final match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
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Swiatek: Losing at French Open Lifted the Pressure for Wimbledon

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her semi final match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 10, 2025 Poland's Iga Swiatek celebrates after winning her semi final match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq

There are few benefits to losing in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam but when Iga Swiatek had her fingers prised off the French Open trophy, it had one unexpected benefit -- it lifted the pressure off her shoulders heading into Wimbledon.

Swiatek crushed Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-0 to reach the Wimbledon final on Thursday after years of trying and failing to make a major impact at the grasscourt Grand Slam.

She has made no secret of her preference for clay courts and her four French Open titles were clear evidence that Paris's red dirt was more to her liking than Wimbledon's lawns, Reuters reported.

Yet her defeat to Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open semi-finals in early June ended her chances of a fourth straight title in Paris and ensured few were tipping her for a career-best run at Wimbledon.

"I think I'm not going to have seasons where the pressure is not going to be kind of forced on me from the expectations from the outside anymore," she said after setting up a Saturday showdown against American Amanda Anisimova.

"Every year I guess it's kind of the same but I feel sometimes I can handle it better or ignore it. Sometimes a bit worse.

"I don't know. Like, honestly, I think it's easier if you haven't won Roland Garros and also if you had more time to practice.

"If I win Roland Garros and then I come here and everybody ask me already about... They put, like, super high expectations."

Five-times Grand Slam winner Swiatek was in a league of her own on a scorching Centre Court on Thursday, blitzing past Tokyo Olympic champion Bencic in the blink of an eye.

She has dropped only one set in her run to the final and suddenly looks at home on grass, a surface she has previously struggled to master.

"Every point is different and every match I need to adjust my game but for sure I feel like I improved my movement," she said, summing up what had changed for her on the surface. "I’m serving really well and I feel really confident, so I’m just going for it and it’s working so I will keep doing that."