Nadal: Catching COVID-19 is a setback for a strong 2022 return

The Spaniard's preparations for the new year have been dealt a blow after contracting the virus.

2021 was a year to forget for Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard only featured in seven tournaments all year, two of which were grand slams (Australian Open and French Open) and three ATP 1000 events.

He was still able to win two of the tournaments which was the Barcelona Open and Rome Masters, two tournaments he has a combined 22 titles. He saw off Stefanos Tsitsipas and nemesis Novak Djokovic in the respective competitions.

The 35-year-old had not played since the Citi Open in Washington in August, but made a return at the World Tennis Championship exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi in December in preparation for the 2022 season. He lost to Andy Murray in the semi-finals and Denis Shapovalov in the third place-playoff.

And then the big news came that he had contracted COVID-19 after the tournament.

This comes as a major blow in Nadal's bid to participate at the Australian Open, a tournament he has only won once, which dates back to 2009 when he defeated his other fierce rival, Roger Federer, in five sets.

For someone who did not play much in 2021 and is now getting a virus that has seen a spike in cases globally due to the Omicron variant, fitness will be a serious issue for Nadal heading to Melbourne if he is able to participate.

Bad news for Nadal is this would give Djokovic the opportunity to surpass him and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slams in men's tennis, as all three are tied on 20 each. Indeed, Nadal and Federer's absence in 2021 gave the Serbian the chance to make a sweep of each major, with only the US Open eluding him from winning all four majors in a calendar year.

It is worth mentioning that Nadal has not done well on hard courts lately, his best coming on the more dominant clay, evidenced by his Barcelona and Rome wins this year. However, after Djokovic saw him off in the semi-finals of the French Open, there are questions about whether Nadal can still challenge the Serb in the majors.

Rafael Nadal had been battling a foot injury

Not to forget some Next Gen players like Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated Nadal in the Australian Open this year and Alexander Zverev, who is currently third in the world rankings. These are players under the age of 25 that have shown incredible strength and skill. Nadal will have it tough trying to stop them with their higher energy levels.

Speaking of energy, Nadal's age also does not seem to help. At 35, he is not getting any younger and getting fitter will be a difficulty if the injuries keep coming in. 40-year-old Federer is a prime example.

Getting COVID-19 came at the wrong time and it is going to take Nadal a lot of time if he is to get back to or show some glimpse of his best in 2022.