Rafael Nadal has announced his withdrawal from the Monte Carlo Masters, the traditional curtain-raiser to the European clay-court season. In an echo of his statement after pulling out of last month’s sunshine swing, the 37-year-old Spaniard said he was not physically ready to compete.
In a year that was meant to be about Nadal bidding a fond farewell to the game at the events that have meant most to him before “probably” heading into retirement, the former world No 1’s absence from a tournament where he has won a record 11 titles will be keenly felt. Nadal’s success in Monte Carlo, the first staging post en route to the French Open, where 14 of his 22 grand slam titles have come, has often set the tone for the entire clay-court season, but now he will miss the event for the third year in a row.
“Hi all, these are very difficult moments for me, sporting wise,” Nadal wrote on social media. “Unfortunately, I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte Carlo. My body simply won’t allow me.
“Even if I am working hard and making the maximum effort every day, with all the will to play and compete again at tournaments that have been very important for me, the truth is that I can’t play today.
“You have no idea how hard this is for me to not be able to play these events. The only thing I can do is to accept the situation and try to look at the immediate future, keeping the excitement and will to play in order to give me a chance for things to get better.”
Nadal has not played since early January, when he returned from almost a year out with a hip injury only to suffer a minor hip tear in a quarter-final loss to Australia’s Jordan Thompson in Brisbane. He was subsequently forced to pull out of the Australian Open. Nadal’s only appearance since came at last month’s Netflix Slam, an exhibition event against Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas, following which he withdrew from Indian Wells and Miami.