Nadal won the Australian Open and French Open this year for the first time in his career, making a bid to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the slam of the calendar year.
“Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from the tournament,” a dejected Nadal told reporters at a hastily arranged press conference less than 24 hours before his semi-final.
“As everyone saw yesterday (in the quarterfinals), I have a stomachache. I knew something was wrong there. Yes, that has been confirmed. I have a tear in the muscle in the abdomen.
“I spent all day thinking about the decision I had to make.”
With the Spaniard’s withdrawal, unseeded 27-year-old Kyrgios became the first Australian to reach the men’s singles final at the All England Club since Mark Philippoussis in 2003.
Nadal’s father and sister urged him to stop mid-game against American Taylor Fritz during Wednesday’s game at Center Court, but Nadal ignored pleas from his box and took a remarkable win in four hours and 20 minutes.
He was back at the All England Club on Thursday, hitting forehands and backhands on the practice courts at Aorangi Park in hopes of taking on Kyrgios.
Nadal, the winner of a men’s record 22 Grand Slam titles, said there was no point in continuing as it was clear to him that he could not have been competitive.
“Even if I’ve tried many times during my career to keep going under very difficult circumstances, I think at that time it’s clear that if I keep going, the injury will get worse and worse,” he said. “I am very sad to say that.
“I made my decision because I believe that under these circumstances I cannot win two games. I cannot serve. It is not only that I cannot serve at the right speed, it is also that I cannot make the normal movement to serve.”
FITNESS DOUBTS
After missing part of last season with a foot injury, including Wimbledon 2021 and the US Open, Nadal arrived at the start of the year for the Australian Open after a bout of COVID-19 and with lingering doubts about his fitness.
But despite a poor build, the 36-year-old went up for the trophy at Melbourne Park.
He then suffered a stress fracture to his ribs at Indian Wells, but played at Roland Garros and won the title with pain-killing injections before every game.
Nadal only confirmed his participation in Wimbledon after radiofrequency treatment relieved the pain in his foot.
“As I’ve always said, happiness is more important to me than any title, even though everyone knows how much effort I put in to be here,” Nadal told reporters at the packed press conference.
“But I can’t risk that game and be out of competition for two, three months because that will be a difficult thing for me.”