Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning a point during his men's singles match against Peter Gojowczyk of Germany at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic
Nadal, who recently underwent laparoscopic appendectomy, is at the ninth place with $44.5 million. In the 2014 season, Nadal has won four titles and took home more than $6 million prize money. In June, he won his ninth French Open title. Nadal has current deals with Nike, Babolat, Mapfre, Kia Motors, Poker Stars, Mueller, and more. Reuters

Rafael Nadal may be feeling the pressure of losing out his world no. 2 ranking to Roger Federer or he is just showing how much he loves the sport that he is willing to sweat blood and tears to stay on top. The Spaniard is reportedly pushing through with participating in the Shanghai Master despite being diagnosed with appendicitis and recommended for surgery.

The 28-year-old tennis player went to the hospital Sunday for a checkup after complaining of stomach pain. While the doctors recommended that he undergo surgery, the procedure is not as immediate, giving him room to compete in this week's Shanghai Rolex Masters.

"The positive thing is I am feeling better today than yesterday. Yesterday I felt a little bit better than the day before. I hope tomorrow I will feel better than today. That's why I want to try. I am in Shanghai. I am here to play a tournament. If I don't play, I don't have the possibility to win. So that's it," Nadal relayed to the press after recuperating for two days in his hotel room.

Nadal is scheduled to start his tournament campaign against fellow countryman Feliciano Lopez Wednesday and has begun training yesterday. He practiced Tuesday at the Qizhong Tenniz Centre for 45 minutes and showed no ill effects of the appendicitis, thanks to some relief medication prescribed by his doctors.

The world's number two player also relayed that his doctor advised him that they would have to take out the appendix sooner rather than later as it is still bound to recur in the future. Nadal will consult his personal physician back in Mallorga and in the meantime will still bring out his best in Shanghai.

The 14-time major winner just returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him for the U.S. Open. This is potentially his second outing in a major tennis competition after reaching the quarterfinal rounds of last week's China Open. He stressed during the press rounds that he is not expecting to come out blazing in the two tournaments as he is using the avenue to gauge his level of health and feel out the competition in preparation for next year's majors. The Australian Open will kick off the majors next year and Nadal hopes to take part in that one.