Nadal Brings Serve Struggles to Australia

Rafael Nadal is still clearly battling serve problems as he tries to defend his Australian championship whirlwind of last season.

It’s not just your imagination. Nadal’s serve metrics are well off his career numbers in his two matches so far– both losses in the season-opening United Cup.

Rafa’s struggles with abdominal strains in the second half of 2022 were well documented. It’s very possible the 22-time Grand Slam Champion is not fully healed.

Nadal chose to jam-pack his schedule late last year with appearances at the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals and a lucrative exhibition in Latin America– all despite battling this strain in his core, dealing with his usual foot problems, bidding farewell to Roger Federer and welcoming his first child. As to why he chose to push himself like this? He’s Rafael Nadal, and he likes to play tennis. He’s showing no signs of cutting his schedule.

Notably, Nadal is not typically thought of as a player who relies heavily on his serve, but that’s a mirage. Every player on the ATP Tour uses the first shot of the rally to control the point in some way. We know that because holding serve is the absolute, stone-cold standard operating procedure in professional tennis, particularly on the men’s side. Any minor erosion in that area of the game can lead to a cascade of problems.

Here’s a look at how his serve is plaguing the Spaniard.

Nadal Serve Mechanics Off

A graphic provided by the world feed during Nadal’s loss to Alex de Minaur shows the serve contact points at the United Cup so far in contrast to the 2022 Australian Open, which Rafa won in spectacular fashion.

Nadal is tossing closer to his body. This is a possible indication that his abdominal strain is preventing him from stretching to reach the tossed ball in his usual locations.

The impact? He certainly wouldn’t be able to hit a kick serve as well. However, Nadal is not really a kick-serve guy. The lefty slice is Rafa’s stock and trade. Still….