Rafael Nadal out for up to 8 weeks after tearing muscle at Australian Open

Rafael Nadal will miss up to eight weeks as a result of the injury that he suffered in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open.

Nadal entered the first Grand Slam of the season very untraditionally, as a defending champion. In 2022, he was able to win the title in Novak Djokovic's absence, and in 2023, he wanted to defend it.

However, he didn't start the season well. Nadal lost both of his matches at the United Cup, as Cameron Norrie and Alex de Minaur proved to be better than him, and his chances ahead of the "Happy Slam" in Melbourne didn't look too promising.

Still, he was considered to be one of the favorites, solely because of his legendary status. Nadal was the top seed, defending champion, and he's a 22-time Grand Slam winner.

After beating Jack Draper in the first round of the tournament, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, Nadal lost already in the second round to Mackenzie McDonald. The American player beat him in three sets, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

Already during the match, it was obvious that Nadal struggled with an injury, but he refused to retire. After the match, he explained that he didn't want to retire because he was the defending champion.

Now, however, he might regret his decision to keep on playing. After his MRI revealed that Nadal sustained a grade 2 left hip flexor injury, he is set to miss at least six and up to eight weeks of play.

That means he will certainly miss the Dubai Championships, and his participation at the Indian Wells Open, where he played in the final last year, and the Miami Open is in doubt. Both tournaments are played in March, with the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells starting on March 8th.

If Nadal doesn't recover in time for the Indian Wells Open, he might also leave the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time in 17 years.

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