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Rafa Nadal's family caught in shock act during Wimbledon drama

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·5-min read
Rafa Nadal (pictured right) looking concerned during his Wimbledon match and (pictured left) his father Sebastian telling Nadal to retire.
Rafa Nadal (pictured right) admitted his family were telling him to retire due to injury during his remarkable five-set thriller against Taylor Fritz in the Wimbledon quarter-final. (Images: Twitter/Getty Images)

Rafa Nadal has shown why he is adored the world over after pushing through injury in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon, but the Spaniard has revealed his family were imploring him to retire early on.

Nadal looked buried in his Wimbledon quarter-final against American Taylor Fritz after suffering an abdominal injury, before calling on his trademark resilience to keep his dream of a calendar Grand Slam alive with a 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-4) win.

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However, it was the scenes in the second set that left the tennis world speechless.

Nadal was rallying to stay in the match as Fritz was moving the 22-time grand slam champion around Centre Court.

The Spaniard was drawing on the crowd's energy as he battled through the pain.

However, it was noted that Nadal's father and sister - supporting him in his player's box - weren't as animated as usual.

At one stage it appeared that Nadal's father Sebastian was waving for his son to retire due to the pain after he came back on court from a timeout.

Fans also noticed that at one stage Nadal had stopped looking towards his player's box for inspiration.

Nadal was able to take the second set and fought like a warrior till the last point in which he won the super tiebreak 10-4.

The Spaniard's celebrations after the match were timid, compared to normal, as Nadal advanced to set up a clash with Nick Kyrgios.

However, Nadal made the shock admission that his father and sister were telling him to retire.

"They told me I need to retire the match," Nadal said to the media press conference.

“It was tough to retire in the middle of the match, not easy, even if I had that idea for such a long time," Nadal said.

"It’s something I hate to do so I keep trying.”

Rafa Nadal admits injury concerns for Nick Kyrgios clash

In a worrying admission after the match, Nadal admitted he wasn't 100 per cent confident he would be able to back up and take on Aussie Kyrgios in the semi-final of Wimbledon.

"I don't know," a battered and bruised Nadal said.

"Honestly, I can't give you a clear answer because if, tomorrow, another thing happens, I will be a liar.

"It's the player decision, but at the same time I need to know different opinions and need to check everything the proper way, no?

"Something more important than winning Wimbledon, that is the health. Let's see how this is going."

Rafael Nadal (pictured) grimacing in pain at the change of ends at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal (pictured) struggling in pain at the change of ends during his math against Taylor Fritz at Wimbledon. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images) (Adam Davy - PA Images via Getty Images)

Nadal will need to be at his best to defeat Kyrgios, who has charged into the semi-final in career best form.

And the Spaniard, who is 1-1 against the Aussie at Wimbledon, admitted Kyrgios was going to be a challenge.

"Nick is a great player, but specially here on grass - it's going to be a big challenge. I'm going to have to be at 100 per cent."

Unfortunately, Fritz was devastated after the loss having come so close to his maiden Wimbledon semi-final.

"Honestly, it hurts probably worse than any loss I've ever had," sighed Fritz.

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