Rafael Nadal bumps down Roger Federer in $130 million twist
This year has been generally very kind to Rafael Nadal so far.
An unexpected win at the Australian Open helped him become the first male player to win more than 20 grand slams, and he extended that reccord when he won his 22nd at the French Open last weekend.
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Those two successes have helped soothe the frustration of last year, in which Nadal spent much of his time rehabbing his chronically injured left foot.
His patience has since been rewarded, with Nadal's windfall from his Roland Garross triumph helping him surpass longtime friend and rival Roger Federer in career prizemoney.
Only Novak Djokovic, who Nadal beat to surpass the 20 grand slam mark, boasts a higher tally earned.
Nadal surpassed $130 million USD in career earnings thanks to his French Open victory, with the Spaniard now boasting career prizemoney of $130,681,472.
He still has quite some ways to go to catch Djokovic, who has already amassed a whopping $156,541,453 in prizemoney as of June 6.
Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are the only three mens players to have earned more than $100 million in prizemoney.
The Spanish star wasn't the only player to move up the list after the French Open, with tour veteran Marin Cilic cracking a major milestone.
🇭🇷 @cilic_marin has become just the 10th man in ATP history to surpass $30 million in career prize money following his run to the semifinals of Roland Garros. 💰
The first 9 men to achieve the feat: Sampras, Agassi, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Ferrer and Zverev.— TENNIS (@Tennis) June 8, 2022
He becomes just the 10th male player in tennis history to earn more than $30 million in career prizemoney, his semi-final run at Roland Garros bringing him to a grand total of $30,468,623.
Cilic also became just the fifth active player to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams with his performance at Roland Garros, joining Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray.
Nadal won the French Open with a straight sets victory over Casper Ruud, who was contesting his first grand slam final.
Rafa Nadal's injury strategy raises eyebrows in sports world
Speaking in his post-match press conference after winning the French Open for a 14th time, Nadal revealed he received a number of injections in his left foot throughout the tournament in order to play.
The 36-year-old said his foot was virtually asleep during the final against Ruud, which he won 6-3 6-3 6-0 to capture his 22nd grand slam title.
“We played with no feeling in the foot, with a [pain-killing] injection on the nerve," he told Eurosport.
"The foot was asleep, and that’s why I was able to play.”
When asked how many injections he received throughout the French Open, Nadal replied: "You don't want to know."
While pain-killing injections are perfectly legal in tennis and the majority of sports around the world, a number of top cyclists have questioned the ethics of using them.
Injections are strictly illegal in cycling, a sport which has been tarnished in recent years by a number of doping scandals.
Top French rider Thibaut Pinot took to social media in reaction to Nadal's comments, quoting a tweet in which Nadal said "it’s better if you don’t know" how many injections he received.
“The heroes of today…” he wrote alongside two emojis - one of a thinking face and the second of a melting face.
Pinot then retweeted comments from investigative journalist Clémence Lacour on the matter.
“His [Pinot’s] tweet speaks ironically of ‘the heroes of today’," wrote Lacour.
"These heroes who choose performance at the expense of their bodies and at the cost of physical problems so bad they must put them to sleep. Is this the model we want for ourselves and our children?”
Nadal has since admitted the French Open is the only event in which he would take injections to play, and said he won't do the same for Wimbledon.
"Wimbledon is a priority, always has been a priority. If I'm able to play with anti-inflammatories, yes," he said.
"To play with anaesthetic injections, I do not want to put myself in that position again. It can happen once but no it's not the philosophy of life I want to follow."
On Tuesday, Nadal could be seen on crutches as he returned home to Mallorca in worrying signs ahead of Wimbledon.
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