"If you substituted Djokovic's name for Nadal, media would be hysterical calling him cheating and doping" - Tennis fans react to Spaniard playing with anesthetized foot at French Open

Rafael Nadal captured a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 win over Casper Ruud in the final. In the aftermath of the win, the Mallorcan revealed that he had been injecting his foot with pain medications, putting him in a position to compete.

Nadal, who suffers from a degenerative foot condition called Muller-Weiss Syndrome, was in unbearable pain coming into the French Open and was even seen visibly limping during his loss at the Italian Open.

It was only due to anesthetic injections that the 22-time Grand Slam champion was able to participate at full capacity at Roland Garros, but his revelation has led to a lot of questions from fans and other athletes.

For starters, users on Twitter were of the opinion that artificial pain-reduction techniques should be considered "doping," especially since they allowed the World No. 4 to go beyond his natural limits.

While such views have been refuted by the World Anti-Doping Agency's Director General himself, they have still been doing the rounds on online forums in recent days.

"If you substituted [Djokovic]'s name for Nadal and ran the story about injections being given etc., the media would be hysterical calling him cheating and doping and demanding to know exactly what's in them and to look at x-rays of his foot. But because it's Rafa there is nothing asked," one angry fan tweeted.

"Nadal's numbing injections are only an issue because he won - nobody would care if he had lost. It's just saltiness disguised as pretending they genuinely care about the integrity of the sport. He acted within the rules so there's nothing to debate," another user wrote.

"It's shocking Nadal was allowed to use injections each day at the French Open—this is considered doping in cycling &other sports. There should be a limit on the use of injections when a tournament is ongoing. Tennis authorities have bent the rules to enable Rafa cheat w/o penalty," one account posted.

"Djokovic fans are now requiring that Nadal play out the rest of his career with crippling foot pain rather than seek treatments for it. They realize that one little corrupt bone in his foot is the difference between their favorite player’s prominence or obscurity," another user tweeted.

Rafael Nadal is undergoing a novel medical procedure to prolong his career

Rafael Nadal is currently undergoing treatment in Barcelona for his foot

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal himself is taking steps to prevent such incidents in the future and is undergoing a novel medical procedure called Radiofrequency Ablation in Barcelona at the moment.

The treatment aims to send a controlled electric current through minimally invasive needles into the foot and try to deactivate the nerve that is responsible for sending pain impulses to the brain. It is estimated that the Mallorcan will need another two or three sessions of the treatment, following which he will be able to be pain-free for a short while.

This has cast doubt over the Spaniard's participation at the upcoming Wimbledon Championships, where he is a two-time champion. Assuming the World No. 4 makes a quick recovery, he will participate at SW19, especially with the elusive Calendar Grand Slam in sight.