PARIS: Rafael Nadal is expected to need about five months to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his left hip, a timeline that likely would keep him out for the rest of this season.
Nadal's spokesman, Benito Perez-Barbadillo, said on Saturday the 22-time Grand Slam champion's 37th birthday that two procedures were performed Friday night by a trio of doctors at a clinic in Barcelona.
One portion of the operation was for a tendon, the other for an old labrum injury.
When Nadal announced last month that he would be missing the French Open because of the hip problem that has sidelined him since January, he said he hoped to be able to return at some point in 2023 but that he expected next year to be the last of his career.
Nadal has held a joint-record of 22 grand slam titles throughout his career ever since he turned pro in 2001. Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic has also held 22 grand slam titles.
The Spanish star has attained the majority of his grand slam success in France, winning a total of 14 French Open titles in (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 editions). He has also won 4 US Open titles in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019 editions. Nadal has two Australian Open (2009, 2022) and Wimbledon (2008, 2010) titles each.
Nadal has held a total of 92 singles titles in his tennis career, which is the fifth-highest by any men's player in the Open Era. The highest titles in the Open era are held by US's Jimmy Connors, who has held 109 titles. 63 of his title wins have come at Clay courts, truly making him the 'King of Clay'.
Nadal has also won two Olympic gold medals, a singles title in the 2008 Beijing Olympics after defeating Fernando Gonzalez and a doubles title in the 2016 Rio Olympics with Marc Lopez. As he has won all four major titles and an Olympic gold medal at least, he is one of two men (other than Andre Agassi) to have achieved a Career Golden Slam.
