Rafael Nadal ended up with a bleeding nose after accidentally hitting himself during the U.S Open

His trainer rapidly assisted him, cleaned the area, and stopped the bleeding

Senior Writer

SEPTEMBER 2, 2022 12:46 PM EDTSEP 2, 2022, 12:46 PM EDT

Rafael Nadal is after his 23rd Grand Slam title. Still, the tennis player had a scary moment during the second round of the U.S. Open after hitting himself with his racket while competing against Fabio Fognini.

Although Nadal won the match, he dropped his racket in the middle of a set, grabbed his nose, and lay on the court. His trainer rapidly assisted him, cleaned the area, and stopped the bleeding. After a five-minute delay, the match continued.

TOPSHOT TENNIS US OPEN 2022 — Spain’s Rafael Nadal lies on the court and receives medical attention after hitting himself in the face with his racket during his 2022 US Open Tennis tournament men’s singles second round match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, on September 1, 2022.

“It was just a strong hit. At the beginning, I thought I [broke] it, the nose, because I was in shock,” Nadal told reporters. “It was very painful.”

“It seems like it’s not [broken]; I am not sure yet. I think it’s getting bigger and bigger, but it’s just a shock. In some way, I deserved to play that bad for a while,” Nadal joked. “No, just joking. Of course not. Things [just] happen sometimes.”

2022 US Open Day 4 — Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates during his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy in the second round of the men’s singles at the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 01, 2022 in New York City.

Rafael Nadal’s mishap ocurred while his pregnant wife, Mery Perelló is in Spain hospitalized. According to our sister magazine HOLA!, Mery Perelló is not going through anything serious, and she is under observation as a precaution and to avoid complications. She was admitted to the Quirónsalud Palmaplanas hospital in Palma de Mallorca, and her parents and sister-in-law Maribel have been taking care of her.

In October, Rafael and Mery celebrated their third wedding anniversary, and this is the first child of the couple. HOLA! confirmed in mid-June that they would be parents, and a few days later, the tennis player spoke about this good news. “I don’t know how life changes because I don’t have experience, but I don’t expect this to mean a change in my professional life,” he assured.