Tennis: Nadal out of French Open, plans retirement in 2024

On May 19, 2023

The 14th-time men’s singles champion, Nafael Nadal will miss the French Open for the first time in 19 years after a hip injury ruled him out.

Nadal injured his hip during a second-round defeat by American Mackenzie MacDonald in Melbourne and initially expected to be sidelined for six to eight weeks. An MRI scan two days after the match showed a tear in his left psoas muscle.

The 36-year-old Spaniard, who has won 22 major titles, also said he plans to retire after the 2024 season.

“I didn’t make the decision, my body made the decision. To play Roland Garros is impossible,” he said.

“Next year will probably be my last year. That is my idea. If I keep going now I won’t be able to make it happen.”

Nadal holds the joint record number of men’s major triumphs alongside Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. He has won 70 other ATP titles and spent 209 weeks at world number one – the sixth longest amount of time in ATP history.

Known as the ‘King of Clay’, Nadal has won 112 of his 115 matches at the French Open.

However, the Majorcan left-hander has not played since sustaining the hip problem at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal has been practising in recent weeks, but was not fit enough to play a tournament in the run-up to Roland Garros.

The French Open starts in Paris on 28 May and runs until 11 June.

“I was working as much as possible every single day for the past four months and they have been difficult because we were not been able to find the solution to the problems I had in Australia,” he added.

“I’m still in the position where I am not able to feel ready to compete at the standards I need to be to play at Roland Garros.

“I am not the guy who will be at Roland Garros just to try to be there and in a position where I don’t like to be.”

Nadal said he needs to stop playing for the foreseeable future in order to make a full recovery and complete a planned farewell season in 2024.

His participation at this year’s Wimbledon remains in doubt. The Championships, which Nadal won in 2008 and 2010, start at the All England Club on 3 July and run until 16 July.

“I will stop for a while, maybe one month and a half, maybe two months, maybe three months or maybe four months. I don’t know. I do not like to predict the future,” he said.

“I will do the right thing for my body and personal happiness.

“My goal and ambition is to try to stop and give myself an opportunity to enjoy the next year.

“That is my idea but I can’t say 100% it will be like this. My idea is to try to enjoy and say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important for me.”

Last month, Nadal announced he would not be able to play the Madrid Open because the injury “still hadn’t healed” and was planning a different course of treatment.

Then he withdrew from this month’s Italian Open – another important clay-court tournament before the French Open – saying he had still not been able to train at a high level.

On Thursday, he announced he will miss Roland Garros for the first time in his career in a news conference at his academy in Majorca.

Nadal won the French Open title in his first appearance there in 2005, going on to triumph another 13 times in the following 17 years.

No player has won as many singles titles at one major tournament as the Spaniard has at Roland Garros.

Tournament director of Roland-Garros Amelie Mauresmo called it a “heart-breaking” decision.

“We will really miss seeing Rafael Nadal, whose destiny is closely linked with that of Roland-Garros.

“I can only imagine the pain and sadness he must be feeling after having to make such a hard decision”.

JIA/BBC

14th-time men's singles champion Nafael Nadal