For the first time since 2004 Rafael Nadal will not be competing at the French Open. The 14-time Grand Slam winner from Spain has been training on clay in an attempt to get ready for the event, but he has opted to withdraw 10 days prior to the competition’s start citing a lack of match fitness.
Due to Nadal’s withdrawal, Novak Djokovic now has the opportunity to surpass his opponent by one Grand Slam.
Due to injury, Rafael Nadal withdrew from the French Open and revealed his probable retirement plans for the next year.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t competed since January, when he was eliminated in the Australian Open’s second round.
At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, he announced that, due to his inability to recover from his injuries in time, he will not be participating in the Roland-Garros race for the first time since 2004.
In front of 2024, which he expects would be his final year on the circuit, Rafael Nadal informed media that he would take a break for an undisclosed amount of time before maybe making a comeback for the Davis Cup at the conclusion of the year.
Due to injury, Rafael Nadal withdrew from the French Open and revealed his probable retirement plans for the next year.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t competed since January, when he was eliminated in the Australian Open’s second round.
At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, he announced that, due to his inability to recover from his injuries in time, he will not be participating in the Roland-Garros race for the first time since 2004.
“For the last four months, I was working as much as possible every single day,” Nadal said.
“We were unable to solve the issue I was having in Australia, so it has been a really trying few months.”As things stand right now, I still don’t feel like I’m prepared to compete at the level required to play at Roland-Garros.
I’m not the type of man who will attend Roland-Garros merely to attempt to get there and force myself into a situation that I don’t particularly enjoy.
“My goal is to make the most of the upcoming year, which will likely be my final year competing professionally. “2024 will probably be my last year,” I said.
“My motivation is to try and say farewell to all the key competitions. I will not establish a return date prior to that. At the end of 2023, it might win the Davis Cup.
Nadal, a 14-time champion, had been spotted rehearsing on clay in an attempt to be ready to defend his championship.
