The player acknowledged that he is going through a very unpleasant moment, but said he hopes to recover gradually, and then return to the courts.

He explained that both in Kuwait, where he played an exhibition match against his fellow countryman David Ferrer, as in Abu Dhabi, passed controls every two days and all were negative.

Nadal said that he is isolated at home and that he has already informed his contacts that he is suffering from the disease.

“Rafa, winner of 20 Grand Slam Tournament titles along with Swiss Roger Federer and Serbian Novak Djokovic, said that the disease will force him to make changes in his competitive calendar for 2022.

Following the announcement, the Majorcan idol’s participation in the Australian Tournament in Melbourne is at risk, given that the preparatory event for the Australian Open will be held from January 3 to 9.

During his stay in Abu Dhabi, Nadal participated in the Mubadala tournament, in which, after four months of inaction, he lost to the British Andy Murray and the Canadian Denis Shapovalov. mem/rws