By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, March 12, 2023
Rafael Nadal remains devoted to dirty work.
Good news for Nadal Nation: the king of clay is back on the dirt training again.
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Fourteen-time Roland Garros champion Nadal shared this training video showing him ripping forehands on red clay.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion has been sidelined since suffering a leg injury in his Australian Open second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald in January.
The leg issue forced Nadal to withdraw from this month's Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami.
As a result, Nadal's record 18-year run inside the ATP Top 10 will be done on March 20th when he will officially drop out of the Top 10.
In fact, Nadal, who is 1-3 this season, is already No. 11 in the ATP Live Rankings behind Taylor Fritz and ahead of Cameron Norrie.
It's the end of a rankings era: Since Nadal first cracked the Top 10 at age 18 in Barcelona in April, 2005, he has never left the Top 10. It's a mind-blowing ATP record run of more than 911 consecutive weeks inside the Top 10.
Still, seeing the Spanish superstar back on his beloved dirt thumping his strokes is a great sign for Nadal and the sport.
Photo credit: MGM Resorts International