French Open 2023: Rafael Nadal has confirmed his withdrawal from the French Open 2023. The 22-time Grand Slam Champion announced his decision at a press conference organised at his academy in Mallorca, Spain, on Thursday, 18th March 2023. He has also given an update on his retirement by stating that 2024 will be his last year on the Tour. The Spaniard announced that he is all set to take a long break this year to enjoy his farewell tour next year. Follow Tennis News and LIVE updates on InsideSport.IN
Rafael Nadal to miss French Open 2023, says it was ‘impossible to be ready’
“Three basic messages from my end and that’s why I am here today. First thing is I will not be play at Roland Garros. I was working for the last four months but we were not able to find the solution to the problem that I had in Australia. Today, I am not in a position to be ready to compete in the Roland Garros,” Nadal said at the conference.
Nadal won the French Open title last year after defeating Casper Ruud. It was his record 14th title win in the tournament. The victory also helped him become the first-ever player in Men’s Tennis history to win 22 Grand Slam titles, which was later equalled by Novak Djokovic.
He then announced that 2024 is probably going to be his last year on the tour. “My goal and my ambition is to try to stop in order to give myself an opportunity to enjoy next year. It is probably going to be my last year in a professional tour.”
“After a couple of years, I had good results in the tour as I was able to win couple of Grand Slams and important tournaments. The real situation however is I was not able to enjoy the practicies done for the competitions. There was too many problems as I had to stop practice due to physical issues. So I need to stop for a while.”
He said he is unsure of when he will make a return to the courts. “I don’t know when I will come back. But I am going to stop it for a while. I am just following my personal feelings and following what is the right thing to do for my body and personal happiness.”
Eloborating more on his farewell tour next year, he said his plan is to bid adieu from the tour by playing in important tournament for one last time next year. “My idea is to try and enjoy to say goodbye to all the tournaments that have been important to me in my Tennis career. I belive that if I keep going now I am not going to make it happen.”
He also didn’t rule out the possibility of playing in the Olympics 2024 that is set to happen in France. “I will like to play the tournaments that are important to me. Ofcourse Olympics is one of the competitions that I would love to be. Whether it’s going to be my last tournament or not, I can’t say now.”
The 36-year-old Spaniard suffered a hip flexor injury during the second round earlier this year at the Australian Open. He was the defending champion but the top seed went on to lose the contest in straight sets against USA’s Mackenzie McDonald.
Since then he has been on the recovery. He said earlier in May that he would not play in the Italian Open after withdrawing from events like the Barcelona and Madrid Open in the months leading up to Roland Garros. Nadal stated his injury problem had improved with a new therapy earlier in May, but not enough for him to be ready to compete in Rome this week.
Following his absence from the tour, he has dropped down to 14th in the ATP Rankings. He is all set to miss the French Open for the first time since 2004.
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