<\/p>\n
“Today it is impossible, so at this time I will not be able to be at Roland Garros,” explained the king of clay at a press conference at his academy in Manacor (Mallorca).<\/p>\n
“It is not a decision that I make, it is a decision that my body makes,” he added about his absence in his favorite tournament, which he will miss for the first time since his debut there in 2005, when he won his first title.<\/p>\n
Nadal, who will turn 37 on June 3, also explained that his physical condition after the injury he suffered in Australia in January pushes him to put “a full stop” in his career to recover in the coming months, before facing in 2024 his farewell to the professional circuit.<\/p>\n
“This would be my objective: to try to stop to try to probably face the last year of my sports career with at least the guarantees of being able to enjoy it,” he explained.<\/p>\n
The announcement of his decision had generated great expectation, since Nadal had been fighting against the clock for weeks to try to return to the slopes on the dirt tour, the most important of the calendar for him.<\/p>\n
But his recovery has not been as expected and finally he will not be able to be in the tournament to be held in Paris from May 28 to June 11. The Mallorcan had so far 112 wins and only three losses (2009, 2015 and 2021) at Roland Garros, plus a withdrawal in 2016 during the event due to a left wrist injury.<\/p>\n
– On leave from Australia –<\/b><\/p>\n
Nadal, who became a father last year, has not competed since he injured the iliopsoas in his left leg during the Australian Open, where he was fired in the second round against American Mackenzie McDonald.<\/p>\n
Initially the injury was going to keep him out of six to eight weeks, but the recovery time has been lengthening and he has had to give up consecutively the clay tournaments in which he has forged his legend: Monte Carlo, Barcelona, \u200b\u200bMadrid, Rome, and now Paris.<\/p>\n
His current physical state has not allowed him to even appeal to his famous capacity for sacrifice to reach the Parisian tournament, as he has done on other occasions when he arrived physically impaired. Without going any further, he won the Musketeers Cup for the 14th time in his career in 2022 despite playing undercover on his left foot, where he has suffered pain since his youth due to M\u00fcller-Weiss syndrome.<\/p>\n
He then added his 22nd Grand Slam tournament, a record in men’s tennis that he now shares with Novak Djokovic, since the Serb won Australia earlier this year. It was hoped that Paris could offer a stage for the tiebreaker, but it will not be possible.<\/p>\n
– With hopes –<\/b><\/p>\n
The Spaniard’s announcement was not, however, a total surprise. When in mid-April he announced his withdrawal from the Madrid tournament, Nadal already admitted that “the evolution has not been what was initially expected.”<\/p>\n
The months of loss in this 2023 have made him fall to 14th place in the ATP. On March 20, he left the ‘Top 10’ ranking for the first time since April 2005.<\/p>\n
And his balance of the season is starving: a single victory and four games played.<\/p>\n
Despite the fact that injuries have been a constant throughout his more than 20 years of successful career, problems have not let up for a year, beginning with his foot and ending with his hip, with two muscle tears in the abdomen last (boreal) summer.<\/p>\n
In the last nine months, he has barely played thirteen games.<\/p>\n
Finally, the fears were fulfilled and tennis fans will not see Nadal in Paris, although there are still hopes that he will return in 2024 and last year’s final won by Norwegian Casper Ruud will not be the last time he stepped on Philippe Chatrier.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n