Tennis fans erupt over baffling detail in photos of Rafa Nadal

We may not have seen Rafa Nadal on the tennis court for months, but the 20-time grand slam champion is still managing to generate headlines.

Even if they are bizarre ones.

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The 35-year-old hasn't played since losing in the second round in Washington in early August and won't step foot on the court again this year.

Nadal skipped Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics after suffering a foot injury in the French Open final against Novak Djokovic in June.

He then re-injured the foot in Washington and was forced to miss the US Open before deciding to sit out the rest of the 2021 season to recover properly.

But the Spanish great is still managing to capture the attention of fans, with many believing Nadal might have made a key addition to his hair.

The ageing veteran seems to sporting less and less hair on the top of his head every time we seen him, but in a recent appearance at his academy in Mallorca he was spotted with a noticeably fuller head of hair.

Fans flocked to social media convinced that Nadal was wearing a wig, with many pointing out that there was two distinctly different tones of colour in his hair.

Others suggested it was just a trick of the light.

Nevertheless, the bizarre look certainly sent social media into a frenzy.

Rafa Nadal ready for 'difficult' recovery from foot injury

Nadal admitted last week that he faces a "difficult" and "painful" recovery from the foot injury.

The 35-year-old said he is "looking forward to improving and facing a process that will be difficult in some ways and painful in others but that I have to go through to fight for what I want again."

Nadal published a photo of himself on Instagram holding crutches with his left foot bandaged.

He announced he had been in Barcelona "to receive treatment on my foot that will require a few days rest and a few weeks off the court."

The Spaniard holds the joint record for grand slam titles in the men's game, tied on 20 with both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who lost in the US Open final to Daniil Medvedev.

"Over the years, things get more and more complicated because you have to be realistic, time doesn't stop for anyone, but I am still excited," Nadal added.

Fans are holding out hope that Nadal will be back in action at the Australian Open in January.

"It is a year that I have missed things that matter a lot to me, such as Wimbledon, such as the Olympics, how the United States Open is going to be now, (and) many other events that are also important to me," he said in August.

"In view of the fact that during the latter year I have not had the ability to train and prepare and compete in the way that I really like to... I came to the conclusion that what I need is time to recover.

"I am (determined) to do whatever it takes to regain the best possible shape, to continue competing for the things that really motivate me and the things that I have done during all these years.

"I am convinced that with the recovery of the foot and obviously a very important daily effort this can be achieved. I will work as hard as I can to make it happen."

with AFP

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