Rafael Nadal raises concerns over foot injury ahead of Toronto Masters

Rafael Nadal admits he has not yet fully recovered from a foot issue that kept him out of Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics but hopes his next outing in Toronto will help him to regain his confidence.

The Spaniard's first event since his semi-final loss at the French Open ended in a shock third-round exit to South Africa's Lloyd Harris in Washington and he admitted his left foot was holding him back.

Nadal, who has dropped to world No 4 in the latest ATP rankings, has been dealing with a recurring foot issue since 2005.

The problem returned at Roland Garros, where he fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals before deciding to sit out two of the year's biggest events.

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"It's been a couple of tough months for me in terms of physical issues," Nadal told reporters at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto.

"I know I am not at my peak yet but I think I have been practising better than what I played in Washington so I am excited to keep going here and be able to play a little bit better than there.

"In some moments, the situation is worse and some moments, the situation is better.

"After Paris, my foot was not recovering. I was in a lot of pain for a couple of weeks so I couldn't train. I stayed around 20 days without touching a racket, trying to recover."

As the second seed in Toronto, Nadal will meet Harris in a rematch after the 24-year-old defeated Brayden Schnur 6-3 6-2 in the first round.

Nadal said he would like to taste victory before heading to the US Open, which starts on August 30.

"I need to find again the positive feelings with my foot," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

"I really need to have a couple of weeks with less pain to have the confidence again on my movements, knowing that I will be able to go out and compete for a long time. That's something that I am looking for in this tournament."

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Tsitsipas calls for coaching to be allowed during matches

Stefanos Tsitsipas said coaching during matches still takes place on the ATP Tour and that rules in place banning such instruction need to be changed.

Tsitsipas feels there needs to be a way to allow communication between coaches and players that is not overly intrusive to the flow of a match.

"Some referees have been catching the coaches that have been coaching, some others haven't," said Tsitsipas. "It has been there all these years, it's never going to change, it's not going to stop.

"My opinion on that is that coaching should be allowed, there should be certain regulations and certain ways to enhance it into players' performances without it becoming too much."

In 2020, the WTA decided existing rules were difficult to regulate and so decided to allow, on a trial basis, coaching from the stands.

While such moves may upset traditionalists, Tsitsipas feels the game needs to evolve.

"What's the point of having a coach with you if you can't get the whole benefit out of it," said Tsitsipas.

"I know tennis is a sport where you get to make the decisions and you can decide for yourself, but sometimes an eye from the outside it can always help and maybe change certain outcomes of matches."

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