Tennis news today: Rafael Nadal's doctor reveals his injury plan, Serena Williams "sad" to see Ashleigh Barty retire, Naomi Osaka wins Miami opener | 24 March 2022

Rafael Nadal's doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro recently opened up about the Spaniard's rib injury that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks. He said that the priority was to ensure the Spaniard was pain-free as soon as possible.

Serena Williams said she was saddened to hear of Ashleigh Barty's sudden retirement.

Meanwhile, Naomi Osaka reached the second round of the Miami Open after beating Australia's Astra Sharma.

Here is a round-up of the day's biggest news

"For now the priority is to remove the pain" - Rafael Nadal's doctor

Dr. Angel Ruiz Cotorro, who is treating Rafael Nadal's rib injury, said the goal at the moment was to relieve the pain and then see if the Spaniard's recovery can be hastened. Nadal suffered a rib stress fracture during the Indian Wells Masters.

"We're going to adapt the work in function of the pain," Dr. Cotorro said. "For now, the priority is to remove the pain. Once the pain's removed we'll be working as much as we can. With this in mind & the evolution it has, we'll see if we can shorten the time...4-6 weeks is quite logical."

Due to the rib injury, Nadal will likely miss the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. It will be interesting to see if Nadal recovers in time for the Madrid Masters and Italian Open.

Serena Williams speaks about Ashleigh Barty's retirement

Ashleigh Barty retirement announcement on Wednesday took the tennis world, including Serena Williams, by shock. Williams said that she was saddened by the news but was happy for the Australian's "new chapter" in life.

"I can’t lie I was sad to read your decision but also happy for your new chapter," Serena Williams wrote on Twitter. "Always your fan close up and afar. Sending all my love."

Williams and Barty faced each other twice, with the former winning on both occasions. The two were scheduled to lock horns in the semifinals of last year's Yarra Valley Classic, but Williams pulled out due to injury.

Naomi Osaka reaches the second round of the Miami Open

Naomi Osaka is in the second round of the Miami Open

Naomi Osaka sealed her place in the second round of the Miami Open after beating Astra Sharma 6-3, 6-4. After the match, the Japanese admitted that she had started visiting a therapist after the heckling incident in Indian Wells. Osaka said that therapy is turning out to be helpful for her.

"I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but I finally started talking to a therapist after Indian Wells," Osaka said. "It only took like a year after the French Open. She kind of told me strategies and stuff. I realise how helpful it is. I'm glad that I have people around me that told me to, like, go in that direction. But, yeah, I was basically just remembering all the things that she told me to do, just to take deep breaths and reset myself when I need to."

Osaka will face Angelique Kerber in the second round.

"The winners of Grand Slams would be very different if the format was best-of-three in men" - Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas believes the list of Grand Slam winners would be very different if the best-of-three-sets format was used for men's matches. He cited the example of Alexander Zverev at the 2020 US Open and himself at last year's French Open. Both players were two sets up in the final but went on to lose in five sets.

"Alexander Zverev, who reached the final at the 2020 US Open, he could have won the US Open if it was best-of-three. You have my case as well at Roland Garros [last year]. You have many other cases," Tsitsipas said.

"I'm pretty sure you can find a lot of cases where the loser of a Grand Slam final won the first two sets and still somehow found themselves losing in the end. The winners of Grand Slams would be very different if the format was best-of-three in men," he added.

"I want to be in the game till I’m in my thirties" - Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu has revealed that she wants to play tennis well into her 30s in the wake of Ashleigh Barty's shock retirement at 25.

"For me, I want to be in the game as long as possible," the Brit said. "I’m only 19. I’ve just come on tour, which is pretty young. I want to be in the game till I’m in my thirties. We’ll see what happens and how long I can last, to be honest."