Ow.
This was a moment you won’t see happen every often in tennis (but hey, maybe hitting yourself in the head with a pickleball paddle is!).
In the second round of Rafael Nadal’s win over Fabio Fognini at the 2022 U.S. Open, the all-time great hit a lunging backhand during a point. His racquet hit the ground, bounced up, and smacked him in the bridge of his nose.
Nadal immediately walked over to the sidelines, sat down and was treated. He eventually finished the match and could even laugh about it a bit. He was OK, thank goodness, but that was quite a moment:
This was bad
Rafael Nadal nose bleeding tonight in one of most-bizarre medical timeouts. #UsOpen pic.twitter.com/O96Z9Yhjug
— Best Muscle Video (@bestmusclevids) September 2, 2022
Rafael Nadal had himself a self-inflicted mishap on the court that led him to a bleeding nose 😲
(via @usopen)pic.twitter.com/I82bEL721A
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) September 2, 2022
Rafa Nadal returns to action after sustaining a cut on his nose. 👏 pic.twitter.com/m6gOlcqk2K
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2022
He chuckled about it and posted on social media
We're glad you are ok, @RafaelNadal 🙏 pic.twitter.com/t9hzv1QNMH
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2022
‼️‼️😆 pic.twitter.com/UF1HDDcScB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2022
Fans reacted
Rafael Nadal at the US Open after hitting himself in the face: pic.twitter.com/rW4JrEfoDy
— Danny Armstrong (@DArmstrong44) September 2, 2022
Rafael Nadal slammed his racket on the ground & hit himself in the face 😭pic.twitter.com/pdBHzbO7CY
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) September 2, 2022
Rafael Nadal overcomes hitting himself in face with own racket to beat Fabio Fognini in US Open …
— Sports (@WinleoSports) September 2, 2022
A totally strange night. Nadal finally cruising 3-0 in the fourth, just whacked himself in the face with the racquet. Trainer out. Cut across the nose. Is it Halloween? What a bizarre match.
— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) September 2, 2022
