Rafael Nadal faces up to eight weeks out of action with the hip flexor injury he sustained on his way out of the Australian Open.
The defending champion and top seed in Melbourne was bundled out 6-4 6-4 7-5 by world number 65 Mackenzie McDonald on Wednesday, struggling to move around the court during the closing stages of the contest.
He refused to retire and afterwards confirmed he aggravated an issue he had been suffering with for a couple of days. The 36-year-old Spaniard knew the problem he had been suffering with for a "couple of days" had worsened, but he was unsure exactly what was causing it.
Now Nadal has clarity, receiving details of the injury after tests on Thursday.
He knows that provided all goes to plan, he should be back on court for the clay-court stretch in Europe leading up to the French Open, where the 14-time winner is also the defending champion.
Nadal wrote on Twitter: "Good afternoon. I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday. The MRI shows a grade two lesion in the iliopsoas of the left leg. Now it's sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time six to eight weeks."
The 22-time major winner may struggle to get back to full fitness in time for the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000 events in March.
Those are due to be preceded on his schedule by a high-profile exhibition match in Las Vegas against Carlos Alcaraz on March 5; however, both men are presently injured, raising doubts over whether that will go ahead.
Nadal was distraught to suffer yet another injury setback, after severe foot and abdomen problems hit his 2022 season.
"In terms of sports and in terms of injuries and tough moments, I mean, that's another one," Nadal said on Wednesday. "I can't say that I am not destroyed mentally at this time, because I will be lying."
Gauff rallies back against Starodubtseva to reach China Open semi-final
Coco Gauff came from behind to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva and reach the semi-finals of the China Open.
Gauff was no match for the qualifier in the first set of Thursday's tie, but the American rallied back to win 2-6 6-2 6-2.
The world number six will face Paula Badosa, the 15th seed, on Saturday.
She is vying for a place in her first final since she triumphed in Auckland in January, and her first at a WTA 1000 event since she won the Cincinnati Open in 2023.
Data Debrief: Comeback queen
Including retirements, Gauff (two) has achieved multiple match wins from a set down at a single WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career, and for the first time at a single WTA event overall since last year's US Open.
Since the format's inception in 2009, meanwhile, only Caroline Wozniacki (eight) has reached more WTA 1000 semi-finals than Coco Gauff (seven) before turning 21. World number one Iga Swiatek (five) is the only other player to reach 5+ semi-finals over that span.
Badosa stands between Gauff and the final. She beat home hope Zhang Shuai in the quarters, and became the second Spaniard to reach the semi-finals of the China Open since the inception of the tournament in 2004 after Garbine Muguruza in 2015.
She is the second oldest player to reach the semi-finals of the China Open in their maiden appearance after Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
Alcaraz lauds 'beast' Sinner after winning China Open classic
Carlos Alcaraz described Jannik Sinner as "a beast" and the world's best player after downing the Italian in Wednesday's remarkable China Open final.
Alcaraz and Sinner battled it out for over three hours in the Beijing showpiece match, with Alcaraz eventually triumphing 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
The Spaniard took the decisive tie-break with a remarkable run of seven straight points, having lost a tie-break in the opening set to fall behind.
At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20 years, 356 days), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.
Speaking after his sixth career win over the Italian (four defeats), Alcaraz outlined his belief he had overcome the very best in the sport.
"He could have won in two, I could have won in two, he could have won in three. It was a really close match," said Alcaraz.
"Jannik, once again, he showed that he's the best player in the world, at least for me.
"The level that he's playing, it's unbelievable. It's a really high quality of tennis. His shots, physically, mentally... he's a beast."
Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead in the third-set tie-break, only for Alcaraz to show extraordinary resilience to maintain his 100% record against Sinner this year, having previously beaten him at Indian Wells and Roland Garros.
"I never lost hope. Honestly I knew that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost on his side," Alcaraz said of the decider.
"I thought that in the third set, I'm not going to lie down after two mini-breaks for him. I thought, 'okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close'.
"During the whole week I've been playing great tennis. Probably sometimes the luck went to my side a little bit in the matches."
Alcaraz topples Sinner in China Open epic
Carlos Alcaraz struck seven successive points in a deciding tie-break to seal a remarkable victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in the China Open final.
The leading lights of tennis' next generation of stars battled it out for well over three hours in Beijing on Wednesday before Alcaraz finally prevailed 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
Having cruised into a 5-2 lead in the opening set, Alcaraz wobbled to allow defending champion Sinner to reel off four of the next five games to force a tie-break that the Italian won with three breaks of serve.
An hour-long second set was settled in Alcaraz's favour, but a topsy-turvy decider went the distance.
Having given up the first break, Sinner responded by hitting back in game eight to restore parity, with another tie-break required.
Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead, only for Alcaraz to string together an extraordinary run of seven straight points to claim the crown.
Data Debrief: King Carlos
It is now 6-4 to Alcaraz in the head-to-head between the Spaniard and Sinner.
Alcaraz has now won all three of their matches this season, triumphing previously at both Indian Wells and Roland-Garros. It is the first time either of the duo has won three straight matches against the other.
At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20y 356d), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.
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