It seems like the end is near for Rafael Nadal. The most successful player in the history of the Monte Carlo Masters (11 titles) has pulled out of the event two days before it starts. Ever since the 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered a hip injury at the Australian Open 2023, he hasn’t been able to come back successfully.
He played three singles matches in Brisbane earlier this year but has not entered an ATP event since then. He was scheduled to play the Australian Open in January, the Qatar Open in February, and Indian Wells in March, but pulled out of each event. Although he played the Netflix Slam on March 3, he looked sluggish in what was a 3-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.
Now, he’s pulled out of a fourth consecutive event and cast a shadow of doubt on his French Open 2024 participation, a place where he is a 14-time champion and has an 112-3 record.
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My body simply won’t allow me: Rafael Nadal
To update his fans, Nadal took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce his withdrawal from the Monte Carlo Masters. He wrote:
“Hi all, these are very difficult moments for me, sporting wise. Unfortunately I have to tell you that I am not going to be playing in Monte Carlo. My body simply won’t allow me.”
“And even if I am working hard & 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.”
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