Rafael Nadal has tested positive for Covid-19 upon his arrival in Spain and having made his comeback from injury in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi last week.
“I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little,” Nadal said in a statement. “I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me.”
Nadal lost 3-6, 5-7 to Andy Murray in the semi-final of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The match was the 35-year-old’s first since a foot injury kept him out of action for a large portion of the 2021 season.
Nadal was working his way towards competing at the Australian Open, which begins in Melbourne on 17 January, but the positive Covid test has cast doubt on him participating in a tournament he won in 2009.
