Rafael Nadal will not defend his title at this year’s French Open. The Spanish player who is currently ranked #15 in the world has been recovering from a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open back in January.
Nadal, who has competed in the last 17 French Opens, has an extraordinary record of 112-3. He has won the French Open 14 times and has only last three time.
Not only will Rafa not participate in the Grand Slam in Paris, we will also not see him at all until the end of this season. Moreover, the King of Clay announced his retirement next year.
He stated that next year’s French Open will be his last French Open. Nadal, who will turn 37 next week, on June 3, will almost certainly try to say goodbye to tennis on top as he looks to win his 15th title at Roland Garros, his favorite tournament, next season.
Nadal, who has played at every French Open since 2004, has made it clear that his body will not allow him to play at this year’s event.
“I feel better now than a few months ago. From week to week, there are questions, it’s easier for me to explain how things are. I’m fine, except I’m sad to miss an important part of the season. As for tennis, I am still ready to fight for important trophies. But physically, I’m not at the desired level and must come to terms with that. Even though my head didn’t want it, my body told me I had to stop. This is an important break so that I can fight for Grand Slams trophies again.”
“If I continued to play now, then I wouldn’t be able to next year. I will not play in the next months, I will not go to Roland Garros, but I intend to be on the field next year. “I want to retire from the court, to say goodbye to those who supported me.”
Credit: ATP tour
Nadal’s Injuries
Nadal started 2022 in a great way. He took advantage of Novak Djokovic not being able to play in Australia due to rigorous Covid protocols and he won his 21st Grand Slam title. Rafa defeated the Russian player, Daniil Medvedev in the final after a big comeback from two sets down 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
After this win, Nadal became the leader in the fight for the title of GOAT, since at that moment he had one more Grand Slam title than both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Meanwhile, Medvedev became #1 in the world, and Nadal defeated him in the semi-finals of the Acapulco Open in February 2022. Nadal went on the work the tournament, defeating Cameron Norrie.
The next month, in March, Nadal also played in the finals at the Indian Wells Masters but was defeated by Taylor Fritz. In that tournament, he suffered a rib injury, and was forced to take a break during which he missed both the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.
Later that Spring, at Roland Garros, Nadal was prepared to take revenge on Djokovic for the defeat that the Serbian player inflicted on him a year earlier. Nadal defeated Djokovic in four sets at the French Open in the quarterfinals. He ultimately won the French Open by defeating Casper Ruud in the final 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.
By winning this title just after turning 36 years old, Nadal became the oldest winner of the title in the history of the French Open. After this achievement, he had another injury problem, this time with his foot. He recovered in time to play at Wimbledon where we had not seen him in three years.
At Wimbledon, Nadal sufferred a problem with an abdominal muscle injury. He still managed to defeat Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals after more than four hours of fighting in five sets 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4). During that match, Rafa’s injury worsened and he withdrew from the tournament.
After a three-year break, Nadal also played at the US Open, where he was defeated by Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6.
Double with a Great Rival
The rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is considered one of the greatest in the history of tennis, and at the Laver Cup last year we had the opportunity to watch these two legends play doubles together. Nadal once again became a part of history because he played in doubles with Federer in the last match of the famous Swiss tennis player’s career.
Credit: ATP tour
At that moment, Roger played till he was 41 years old and the tennis world had hoped that Nadal too would be able to play into his 40s. Unfortunately, it now appears that Nadal will not be playing professional tennis when he turns 40.
Rafa ended the 2022 season with a not-so-great performance at the ATP Finals as he managed just one win by defeating Casper Ruud. However, he also lost to both Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Only Two Matches in 2023 and Another Injury!
Although he had major injury problems in 2022, Nadal had still managed to have a successful year. He entered 2023 as the man with the most Grand Slam titles in history. He arrived in Australia to defend his title and regain a two Grand Slam victory advantage over Djokovic.
That dream was quickly extinguished as Rafa was eliminated in the second round. The American player, Mackenzie McDonald recorded the biggest victory of his career. He defeated Nadal in three sets 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Defeat at the Australian open was the least of the problems for the Spanish player because he suffered another injury. This time, Nadal injured his hip. Meanwhile, Djokovic went on to win the 2023 Australian Open by defeating Tsitsipas in the final 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) The win allowed Novak to tie Rafa for the most number of Grand Slam titles, at 22.
Who Will Take the GOAT Crown?
Nadal is not currently ranked in the top 10 players in the world. Given that we will not see him in Paris this year, he will drop out of the top #100 players in the world after this Grand Slam, and he will continue to drop in the rankings over the course of the year. With Rafa out, there are several top contenders to win the French Open title.
The main favorite is the current world #1, Carlos Alcaraz, but the young Spanish player will not have an easy task to reach the much-coveted title. In addition to Alcaraz, Ruud, Tsitsipas, Rublev, and Rune are all contenders. Finally, of course, there is Novak Djokovic.
If Novak wins at Roland Garros, or later this year at Wimbledon or the US Open, he will become the leader in the fight for the title of GOAT. Of course, this does not dimmish Rafa’s unbelievable career, and will arguably be the 2nd best player in the history of tennis. Unfortunately for Rafa, there can only be on GOAT.
