Rafa Nadal pays the consequences of his injury:after recieving messages from rival during..

afael Nadal, who has only played four matches this season, the last of them on January 18 in the second round of the Australian Open, is paying the consequences of his long inactivity as a result of the hip injury that forced him to undergo surgery.

This week he drops to 662nd in the ATP rankings after losing 210 points out of 255. That means Nadal drops to No. 662 and is left with 45 second-round spots in the first major of 2023.

To find the last time Nadal appeared so far down the rankings, you have to go back to April 29 2002 when he was ranked 762nd.

The Spaniard, who is still training with a view to making a comeback on the upcoming tour of the Antipodes, is guaranteed invitations to tournaments, and can also use his protected ranking.

However, at the time of his return, he is exposed to have very complicated first rounds in which he could face the players who currently make up the world’s top 10.

Pablo Carreno, who last Friday underwent surgery to solve his right elbow discomfort, will close the year also out of the top 600 positions.

The Asturian is currently 602nd with 56 points.