With a month to go until the start of the clay-court season, Rafael Nadal has again been forced to put his comeback on hold. In an echo of his withdrawal from last month’s Qatar Open, the 37-year-old Spaniard pulled out of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Wednesday night after declaring that he is not yet ready to compete.
Nadal, who returned from a long-term hip injury two months ago at the Brisbane International only to suffer a muscle tear that kept him out of the Australian Open, has now withdrawn from his past three tournaments. His sole appearance since losing to Jordan Thompson in Brisbane came in Sunday’s Netflix Slam, an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas.
“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament,” Nadal said in a statement. “Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here at Indian Wells. That’s also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready.
“I have been working hard and practising, and you all know I took a test this weekend, but I don’t find myself ready to play at the highest level at such an important event. It is not an easy decision, it’s a tough one as a matter of fact, but I can’t lie to myself and lie to the thousands of fans.
“I will miss you all and I am sure the tournament will be a great success.”
While Nadal did not specify the nature of his physical problems, footage of his practice sessions at Porcupine Creek, the estate owned by the software billionaire Larry Ellison, suggested a relatively restrained approach on the Spaniard’s part. Nadal is noted for the intensity of his on-court training sessions, where he tends to flatten out his shots and hit harder, but the 22-time grand slam champion appeared to be going through his paces in gentler vein.
It was a similar story during Nadal’s weekend meeting with Alcaraz, even allowing for the fact that it was just an exhibition.
“Nadal looked compromised,” Jim Courier, a member of the event’s all-star commentary team, told the Tennis Channel. “He wasn’t arching his back the way he normally would to serve, his serve numbers were a little bit lower than expected, and he was not moving with the same type of freedom.”
Nadal’s place in the draw will be taken by India’s Sumit Nagal, who faces Milos Raonic of Canada on Thursday. Holger Rune, the Danish seventh seed, awaits the winner in round two after receiving a bye.
While Nadal has at least been able to console himself by playing plenty of golf during his stay in the Coachella Valley, where he has been accompanied by his family, his withdrawal represents a significant blow for the tournament. Following news of the three-time champion’s withdrawals, refunds were offered to fans holding tickets for Thursday’s evening session.
“We are disappointed that Rafa is unable to play in the BNP Paribas Open, but we wish him continued healing and hope he can be back in action again soon,” said Tommy Haas, the former world No 2 and tournament director.
“He is one of the all-time fan favourites here, and we hope to see him back in Indian Wells again in the future.”
After this latest setback, that may be optimistic. Nadal said last summer that this would be his last season on the tour, and although he has since rowed back a little on that gloomy prognosis, suggesting that he could play on into next year if things go well, that prospect fades a little more with each withdrawal. The Spaniard’s immediate goal will be to recover in time to make the starting line for the Monte Carlo Masters, the first big event of the European clay-court swing, where he has been crowned champion 11 times.
Longer term, Nadal hopes to make a tilt at a 15th French Open title, and to represent Spain at this summer’s Olympics in Paris – but his long goodbye is becoming shorter by the tournament.